Donald Trump, who turns 80 next month, is going for his third medical exam in the last 13 months, this time at „Walter Reed" hospital near Washington. The White House announced it as „routine annual checkup", but the context is not exactly routine - photos of bruises on his hands and swollen legs, partly covered with liquid foundation, have been circulating online for months.

According to physician Sean Barbabella in October last year, Trump has „cardiovascular health comparable to a 65-year-old". That sounds good, but the word „comparable" deserves a flag: it does not mean „has the health of a 65-year-old", but „some markers similar to a 65-year-old". Different things. On top of that, Trump himself explains the bruises through „frequent handshakes", while the White House gives a different version - they are side effects of blood-thinning medication.

Last July, the White House officially confirmed that Trump is being treated for chronic venous insufficiency, a mild condition common in older people. That matters: it explains part of the symptoms, but not all. The swollen legs - yes. The bruises on the hands - not directly.

Why does this matter for Balkan readers? Because Trump is an active president whose decisions directly affect our geopolitics - Ukraine, Iran, China, NATO enlargement. The health of an 80-year-old man who does not stop travelling and deciding is a public question, not a private matter. When he is older than Biden was when he took office, the question is legitimate.

Trump is the oldest president in US history to be inaugurated. That makes every medical exam a state-secret-level event for some investors and some allied countries - because the electoral cycle can be cut short not by politics, but by biology.