A brief history of the presidents who were ill while in office

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump announced early Friday that they have tested positive for covid-19. But this is hardly the first time a president has fallen ill in office.

Here’s a brief history of presidents who have faced severe ailments while in the Oval Office:

Andrew Jackson

During his presidency, Jackson was plagued by the lingering effects of his dueling days. Two bullet wounds caused him pain and left him in generally poor health during his presidency. In 1832, a Navy physician removed a bullet from Old Hickory’s chest at the White House.

Jackson also suffered from rotting teeth, chronic headaches, failing eyesight, bleeding in the lungs and an internal infection.

Grover Cleveland

In 1893, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in the president’s mouth. To hide the ailment from the public, Cleveland boarded a private yacht and had the growth surgically removed in secret. The operation was successful but secretive.

William Taft

Taft weighed more than 300 pounds when he took office. His clinical obesity led to sleep apnea, which disrupted his sleep so much that he was reported to nap through political meetings. He also had high blood pressure and heart issues, which later led to his death.

Woodrow Wilson

When Wilson was inaugurated in 1913, a well-known military physician named Silar Weir Mitchell predicted he wouldn’t survive his first term. While the prediction proved incorrect, Wilson struggled with severe health complications. He suffered a series of strokes throughout his life, the most serious of which occurred in 1919. Wilson was unable to perform his presidential duties, and his wife, Edith, quietly took over many of his official responsibilities to keep the severity of Wilson’s condition hidden from the public.

Warren Harding

Harding struggled with mental and physical health concerns during his life. Harding’s mental health issues contributed to severe sleep issues. In 1923, he was diagnosed with the flu and later pneumonia. Harding died in office, though the cause of death was debated. Many experts today blame heart failure, and some suggest he suffered heart attacks before his death.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

During his presidency, Roosevelt concealed the fact he relied on a wheelchair after contracting polio in 1921 at the age of 39. Roosevelt learned to walk with the aid of braces, crutches and an arm for support. But he asked the press to refrain from photographing him while walking, and there are few photos of the president in a wheelchair. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt suffered a massive stroke and died while in office.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower endured various ailments during his presidency. When he was elected in 1952, he was suffering with abdominal adhesions, the result of an appendectomy. In 1955, he had a heart attack. His cardiologist advised him not to run for reelection — advice that Eisenhower ignored. Eisenhower was subsequently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a gastrointestinal disorder that required surgery. He also suffered a stroke in 1957.

John F. Kennedy

Like several other presidents with health issues in the White House, Kennedy hid many of his ailments from the public. He lived in near constant pain, the result of a back injury that required multiple surgeries. JFK also struggled with allergies and stomach issues. He was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, an endocrine disorder that was responsible for the gastrointestinal issues that had plagued him most of his life.

Ronald Reagan

Reagan had a few cancer scares while in office. In 1985, he had multiple polyps removed from his colon — one of which was cancerous. He later had skin cancer removed from his nose. Plus, Reagan had urinary tract infections and developed temporomandibular joint disease (TMJ) and arthritis.

During his presidential campaign, there were rumors of dementia, but there’s little evidence that he had dementia or Alzheimer’s while in office. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after his presidency.