Although Donald Trump has never shied away from poking fun at Joe Biden’s age, which was 82 at the end of his presidential term, there’s no denying Trump’s own advanced age during his second presidency. When he was elected in 2024, he was 78 years old. That will make him 82 at the end of his second four-year term.
So some of those who oppose Trump were quick to claim he was “sundowning” when he appeared on the White House Roof in a clip that has gone viral. It’s a term used to describe confusion late in the afternoon and early evening, according to Mayo Clinic.
In the clip, which was shared across social media, you can hear what sounds like members of the media asking Trump why he is on the roof. He makes some casual comments about planning how best to spend more of his money on the White House.
Previously, he shared details about using private funds to expand the White House ballroom, per Fox Business. But, according to some, his White House Roof adventure is evidence of Trump’s old age and confusion more than anything.
Trump’s critics think he was doing more than planning his next White House renovation.
@cbsnews President Trump told reporters he was "taking a little walk" on the roof of the White House after they spotted him there on Tuesday, and suggested he'd be putting "something beautiful" there that would be "more ways to spend my money." The administration announced last week that it would be constructing a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in the White House's East Wing. The approximately $200 million project will be funded by Trump and other private donors, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
♬ original sound – cbsnews
In the clip of Trump on the White House roof, you can hear someone ask him, “Sir, what are you doing on the roof?” Another person calls up to him, “Mr. President, what are you doing up there?”
Trump smiles and says he is taking a walk. On the roof. He then claims he is making plans to build something else to add on to the White House property.
Trump doubles down on his apparent plans while on the roof of the White House. He tells the people on the ground, who are presumably the media, that he is working on plans for “just another way” to spend his money.
But people who have seen the clip aren’t sure that’s what Trump was actually doing on the roof. In the comments under the clip that CBS News shared on TikTok, multiple users likened Trump’s rooftop walk to sundowning that happens with elderly people.
“This is literally how my grandma responds when she’s sundowning and gets confused and then tries to act like she’s not confused when we question her about it,” someone commented on the video.
Another user wrote, “They called Joe sleepy, meanwhile dementia Don is walking on the roof confused and spitting more lies which will cost even more of our money that we don’t have.”
Someone else shared that their “senile grandfather” would habitually trap himself in his attic accidentally. The user added that, because of their grandpa, they “understand” Trump’s seemingly aimless wandering on the roof.
Another user joked, “I can already see this in a South Park episode.” And they may be onto something, given South Park‘s controversial Trump portrayal.
Per the Alzheimer’s Association, sundowning typically happens in people who are living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, or sometimes both. It presents itself in older individuals as symptoms that involve trouble sleeping, confusion, wandering, and agitation or anxiety. Sundowning is most common in individuals 70 or older.
Trump has not publicly shared any diagnosis that would confirm he has ever sundowned, but there have long since been questions about his mental health and ability to lead in the White House.
According to PennLive, in June 2025, Hopkins University Medical School assistant psychiatry professor John Gartner, Trump has displayed “classic signs of dementia.”
