Any details that are made public are typically shared by the White House, with the President’s consent.
“At this point in time, what the law requires is for a President’s physician to respect a President’s confidentiality, and the President gets to choose what is disclosed,” says M. Sara Rosenthal, a professor of bioethics at the University of Kentucky.
The American people, she notes, may not be satisfied with that arrangement.
“I think the public feels that they have a right to know the health of their sitting President,” Rosenthal says.
Multiple Presidents have concealed significant health issues in the past, including Woodrow Wilson, whose Administration took pains not to reveal the severity of his condition to the public after he suffered a major stroke while in office.
Rosenthal says that concerns regarding Presidents’ health have grown in recent years.
“This has become an issue as the Presidents have aged,” she says. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama were all under the age of 65 on their last day in office, Rosenthal points out. In contrast, Biden was 82 years old when he left office in January 2025, and Trump is turning 80 next month.
