For all of Donald Trump's goading of Joe Biden's seeming infirmity, continuing to refer to the president as "sleepy Joe" the former president has often been the subject of rumors and concerns about his own physical and mental well-being.
Trump sparked some concern last year when he began talking about health as a potential factor in whether he would run in 2024. At 78, he also suffered from a bout of COVID in 2020 and has been clinically defined as obese, in addition to other more speculative claims.
A photo recently shared on Reddit appeared to speak to some of these health concerns, showing the former president seemingly in need of support at a black-tie event.
The Claim
A Reddit post by user "ofdefrrgelator4097", posted on July 12, 2023, which received 32,000 upvotes, showed a photo of the president seemingly being physically supported by an assistant.
The photo was attached to a screengrabbed tweet that read: "Trump looks physically very unwell."
The Reddit post stated: "He doesn't look like that superhero I keep seeing in maga posts."
The Facts
Trump allies have maintained that the former president remains in good physical health. In July 2022, Republican Representative Ronny Jackson said that former President Donald Trump's health was in the "top 10 percent of everyone his age" when he examined him during his time as White House doctor.
"He's in great health," Jackson said. "And people wonder why he's so healthy because, you know, he famously doesn't have a really great diet and he doesn't exercise much other than playing golf and whatnot."
Whatever the truthfulness of that is, the photo shared on Reddit appears to show the president in a less-than-robust state, with what looks like an aide helping him stand up.
However, the photo is edited to create the impression of infirmity.
The original picture, tweeted on June 16, 2023, by Rudi Giuliani's son, Andrew Giuliani, showed that the pair were shaking hands.
Thank you to the 45th and 47th President of the United States, my friend, Donald J. Trump!! pic.twitter.com/1UMtVn8p3r
— Andrew H. Giuliani (@AndrewHGiuliani) June 16, 2022
The edit was clever in as much as it removed from its original context and with a new heading could be made to appear that the president was in need of aid.
Less subtle was what appeared to be some kind of photo editing to make Trump appear older, with shadowing around his eyes exaggerated and wrinkles deepened.
In any case, the photo in its original context did not denote any obvious physical illness or a more haggard appearance.
It's not the only time in recent memory that photo editing was used to dupe social media users to think Donald Trump was out of shape.
In June 2023, another far more obviously manipulated photo of Trump was also shared on Reddit, with a much heavier and aged appearance.
Newsweek discovered the picture was a significant alteration of a picture taken at the former president's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The Ruling
False.
The photo has been cropped, taken out of context, photoshopped, and given a misleading description to make Trump look infirm.
The original photo was a cropped photo of him shaking hands with Andrew Giuliani. In the original, it is clear he is not being supported. Photoshop effects were added to Trump's appearance in the cropped version to further develop the impression of poor health.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
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