St Petersburg or 'Leningrad'? Trump sparks dementia rumours ahead of meeting with Putin

US President Donald Trump sparked conversations about his cognitive health after mistakenly referring to the Russian city of St. Petersburg as “Leningrad” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. The gaffe fueled speculation about possible dementia, as it came days after Trump mistakenly said that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia, instead of Alaska. Netizens were quick to point out that Leningrad officially reverted to its historic name in 1991, following a city referendum. Some users noted the irony, recalling Trump’s 1987 visit to both Moscow and Leningrad when he sought to expand his real estate empire in Russia. The series of missteps raised questions about Trump’s mental sharpness ahead of the high-stakes summit with the Russian president.

‘If I got Moscow and Leningrad free…’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Aug 13) blasted at “fake news” media over its coverage of his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine ceasefire talks in Alaska on Friday (Aug 15). Trump also slammed “fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton in a fiery post on his Truth Social platform. Trump wrote, “What’s that all about? We are winning on EVERYTHING. The Fake News is working overtime (No tax on overtime!). If I got Moscow and Leningrad free, as part of the deal with Russia, the Fake News would say that I made a bad deal!”

Trump-Putin meeting

It was confirmed on Friday (Aug 8) that Trump will meet with Putin on August 15 to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Both the Kremlin and the White House confirmed the summit. The US had proposed a tri-party meeting between Putin, Trump and Zelensky, but Putin expressed his reservations about the same. Trump has now said that he would know withing two minutes of the meeting with Putin if he is interested in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. This will be the first in-person summit between Trump and Putin after they last held the Helsinki Summit in 2018 in Finland. They met briefly at the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, but no formal summit was held.

Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday revealed that Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a blood circulation issue, after “mild swelling was noticed in his lower legs.” Leavitt was addressing concerns over visible swelling in President Trump’s ankles and bruising on his hand when she made the disclosure and said that it was assessed to be “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin” as a preventative heart-health measure.

Donald Trump's health report

In April this year, the White House released a report by its physician stating Trump is in "excellent cognitive and physical health." In the first annual physical of his second presidential term, Trump was also found to have scarring "on the right ear from a gunshot wound", after an assassination attempt last July. "President Trump remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function," his doctor, Captain Sean Barbabella, said in a memo. At 78, Trump is the oldest president to take office.