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Prediction: Donald Trump Won’t Live to See 2022
He’ll join James K. Polk in the club of presidents who died the calendar year they left office
Donald Trump’s presidency will come to an end Wednesday not with a bang, but with a whimper. Following his popular vote loss to Joe Biden by more than 7 million, his world has collapsed around him. Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in swing states were thrown out by the courts, one lawsuit after another. He went too far when he rallied his base to storm the United States capitol building the day Congress was to certify the electoral tally. His allies in Washington began abandoning him, and his net approval rating dropped like a rock.
Only one past president of the United States has left office and died within the calendar year: James K. Polk, the 11th president, who served from 1845 to 1849. I believe that before 2021 is over, Trump will join Polk as a member of this club.
Trump’s physical health and habits
According to the results of his latest Presidential physical, Donald Trump stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and weighs 244 pounds. That gives him a body mass index (BMI) of 30.5, which is considered obese. Obesity carries an enhanced risk of many serious health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, liver disease, and diabetes.
Trump is an admitted fast-food junkie, enjoying Big Macs and Quarter Pounders from McDonald’s and the occasional bucket of chicken from KFC. When he tends more toward the direction of fine dining, he eats a well-done steak slathered in ketchup. He washes it all down with Diet Coke, a beverage he consumes a dozen times a day.
Trump has been told by his physicians that he needs to get more exercise; however, he has not obeyed that advice. He has not been a regular in the White House exercise room, a room used frequently by his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump has defended his golf habit as exercise.
His lack of health may extend beyond just the physical. In 2018, 70 mental health professionals wrote a letter to Trump’s personal physician, arguing that he showed signs of cognitive decline.
