Oct. 30, 2025

Is Donald Trump Fit to Serve? Health Concerns, ‘Martial Law’ Talk, and That Japan Stairs Video

Show Notes
Transcript

President Donald Trump’s trip to Japan is raising real questions about his health and his power. We break down the footage of the 79-year-old president gingerly taking the stairs off Air Force One in Tokyo, gripping the rail with both hands and dragging his right leg after meeting Emperor Naruhito — all while the White House refuses to explain why he quietly had an MRI this month but still calls his health “excellent.” We also get into Trump’s shocking speech to U.S. troops in Japan, where he floated sending the U.S. military — not just the National Guard — into American cities to “fix” crime, a scenario critics say sounds a lot like martial law. Then he bragged about sinking boats in the Caribbean and called it a drug war, despite other governments saying civilians and even fishermen were killed. All that, plus Trump telling sailors he’s “always wanted to be an admiral.” This is your daily reality check on the age, stability, and judgment of the guy threatening to use the military at home while insisting he’s in “incredible shape.”

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:10.800
Kalaroga Shark media from Japan, where you can ignore those

2
00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:13.279
threats of martial law coming from the president of the

3
00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:16.359
United States. This is ballot for a guy who can't

4
00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:18.399
even walk down a flight of stairs. There's a lot

5
00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.920
of tough talk coming out of his mouth. Let's hit this.

6
00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.960
I'm Patrick Guttfield and Donald Trump's arrival in Japan has

7
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.559
people worried about his health, and the footage of him

8
00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.640
getting off Air Force one tells you everything you need

9
00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:35.119
to know. The seventy nine year old president descended the

10
00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:37.799
stairs of Air Force one at honey To Airport in Tokyo,

11
00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:42.320
moving like someone navigating an ice rink, eyes fixed downward,

12
00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:46.759
gripping the handrail with both hands, taking slow, measured heel

13
00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:50.039
to toe steps. He looked less like the President of

14
00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:53.439
the United States and more like someone's grandfather being extra

15
00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:57.479
careful at the grocery store. Trump himself told Marines earlier

16
00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.560
this month that he takes extra care going down steps

17
00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.840
and shouldn't bop down the stairs, which is a very

18
00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:07.760
specific thing to tell the Marines. Nobody just casually announces

19
00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:11.359
their stair strategy unless stairs have become a significant concern.

20
00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:16.480
Then there's the meeting with Japan's Emperor Naruhito. Video shows

21
00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.719
Trump walking gingerly from his limo to shake the emperor's hand,

22
00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:21.959
and when he left the meeting, you could see him

23
00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.760
dragging his right leg and favoring his left side. That's

24
00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:27.840
not incredible shape. That's someone who needs to sit down.

25
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.159
All of this comes right after Trump admitted on the

26
00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:33.920
flight from Malaysia that he had an MRI during what

27
00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:38.120
was supposed to be a routine medical checkup on October tenth.

28
00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:42.799
An MRI during a routine checkup, which is like saying

29
00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:46.359
you got routine open heart surgery. The White House has

30
00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:49.560
not released a full physician's note from that visit. They

31
00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.719
put out a summary and called Trump's health excellent, but

32
00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.560
they won't explain why he needed an MRI. Press Secretary

33
00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:01.000
Caroline Levitt refused to specify which tests were performed, which

34
00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.239
is usually what you do when everything's totally fine and

35
00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:08.599
there's nothing to hide. And there are other signs. Trump

36
00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:11.240
has had a recurring bruise on his hand for months

37
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:15.560
that he often covers with makeup. His ankles are visibly swollen.

38
00:02:16.599 --> 00:02:20.400
Doctors have diagnosed him with chronic venus insufficiency, which is

39
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.159
when damaged veins slow blood flow back to the heart.

40
00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.960
Medical experts on the Daily Beast podcast pointed to memory

41
00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:30.960
lapses and disorganized speech as warning signs of cognitive decline,

42
00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:34.280
which tracks considering he just gave a speech to the

43
00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.319
Navy about how water destroys magnets. But the White House

44
00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.840
Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly insists President Trump is an

45
00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:46.319
incredible shape as a champion level golfer and is demonstrating

46
00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.280
his unmatched stamina during his multi leg trip to Asia.

47
00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.520
Champion level golfer, that's the defense. He can hit a

48
00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.280
golf ball while riding in a cart, Therefore, he's healthy

49
00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.639
enough to run the country. Look, nobody's saying Trump needs

50
00:02:59.639 --> 00:03:01.759
to spray down the stairs of Air Force One like

51
00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.759
he's in an action movie. But when the President of

52
00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:07.240
the United States is gripping the handrail like it's the

53
00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.319
only thing keeping him alive, when he's dragging his leg

54
00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:14.080
after meetings with foreign leaders, when he's had a mysterious

55
00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:17.599
MRI that nobody will explain, and when his own staff

56
00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:21.759
won't release his medical records, that's concerning. The man is

57
00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:25.439
seventy nine years old building a three hundred million dollar ballroom,

58
00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.960
shutting down the government while forty million people lose food assistance,

59
00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:32.680
and explaining to the Navy that tractors prove magnets don't work.

60
00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:49.800
But sure, he's a champion level golfer. Everything's fine. Trump

61
00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:52.120
gave a speech to American troops in Japan where he

62
00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.159
threatened to deploy military forces beyond the National Guard into

63
00:03:55.240 --> 00:03:58.520
US cities, defended killing civilians at sea, and told the

64
00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:02.159
sailors he'd always wanted to be an admiral. The seventy

65
00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:04.759
nine year old president was aboard the USS George Washington

66
00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.360
at Yokosuka Naval Base, delivering what was supposed to be

67
00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.120
a speech to military service members. Instead, it turned into

68
00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.800
an hour long rally where he mixed his usual ramblings

69
00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:16.839
about how attractive people are with dark threats about using

70
00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:21.639
the military against American cities. We have cities that are troubled.

71
00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:24.560
We can't have cities that are troubled, Trump said, And

72
00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:27.279
we're sending in our national Guard, and if we need

73
00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:29.560
more than the National Guard, we'll send more than the

74
00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.120
National Guard, because we're going to have safe cities. So

75
00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.160
the President of the United States just announced on foreign

76
00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:39.240
soil in front of thousands of troops, that he's prepared

77
00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.639
to deploy military forces beyond the National Guard into American cities,

78
00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:47.199
which sounds an awful lot like martial law, but he

79
00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.600
said it so casually you'd think he was talking about

80
00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:53.879
ordering pizza. Whether people like that or not, that's what

81
00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.879
we're doing, he added, which is reassuring. Then he moved

82
00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:00.240
on to defending the military strikes in the Caribe and

83
00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:05.079
Eastern Pacific that have killed forty three people. The administration

84
00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:08.879
claims they were all drug smugglers, but they've provided zero evidence.

85
00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:14.040
Other governments, including Columbia, say innocent people were killed, including fishermen.

86
00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:20.160
Trump's response, submarines don't go fishing. That's his proof case closed.

87
00:05:20.839 --> 00:05:23.160
If you're on a boat near South America, you must

88
00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:25.519
be a drug smuggler, so the military can blow you

89
00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:28.319
up without trial or evidence. He called it a war.

90
00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:31.759
We're winning it already. The sea. I mean, the only

91
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:34.199
problem is nobody wants to go into the sea anymore,

92
00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.160
even the fishing boats. Right, Nobody wants to go fishing

93
00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:41.480
anymore because the United States military is sinking boats and

94
00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.920
killing people without verifying whether they're actually smugglers. That'll do it.

95
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.240
Trump praised the tactics, saying we're knocking them out one

96
00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:52.199
by one and claiming the US has almost completely stopped

97
00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:55.160
drugs from coming by sea, and now we'll stop the

98
00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.160
drugs coming in by land, he promised, which I guess

99
00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:02.519
means what military strikes on America and soil. But here's

100
00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.800
where it gets really weird. After threatening to deploy military

101
00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.800
forces into American cities and defending extra judicial killings at sea,

102
00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.279
Trump spent a considerable portion of his speech trying to

103
00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:17.800
be charming. Our ultimate strength does not come from equipment.

104
00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.240
It comes from the men and women of the rank

105
00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:24.519
and file. That's true. It comes from you people. Incredible people,

106
00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.839
good looking people. Too many good looking people. I don't

107
00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:30.439
like good looking people. I never liked good looking people.

108
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.920
I'll be honest with you. Never admitted that before this

109
00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:36.560
from a man who often dances to the village people.

110
00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:41.759
Then he promised salary increases for service members, even though

111
00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.319
the government shutdown he caused has forced him to move

112
00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:47.399
federal funds around and rely on a private donation just

113
00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.480
to pay troops. He told the sailors that many of

114
00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.720
them took a pay cut to attend the event, but

115
00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.879
assured them. We're not going to deduct anything because you

116
00:06:55.959 --> 00:07:00.240
came in to listen to your commander. How generous. Don't worry,

117
00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.600
I won't dock your pay for being forced to listen

118
00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:06.480
to me ramble for an hour, and then this final detail.

119
00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.560
I'd like to be an admiral. I always wanted to

120
00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:12.480
be an admiral. To be honest, the seventy nine year

121
00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:15.279
old president of the United States, who avoided the draft

122
00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.839
multiple times, who just threatened to deploy military forces into

123
00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:23.240
American cities, who's defending killing civilians without evidence, told active

124
00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.279
duty military personnel that he wishes he could be an admiral.

125
00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:29.000
Portions of today's show were made with the help of

126
00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:29.360
AI