One insider tells PEOPLE that Trump wants “to be 40 again, dancing around New York," but “the presidency with all of its responsibilities has aged him"
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Donald-Trump-White-House-2026-3-061226-e09e243c590f401c84f283b06dac679c.jpg "President Donald Trump during an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.")
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NEED TO KNOW
- While President Donald Trump doesn’t like to think about his age — he turned 80 on Sunday, June 14 — sources close to the president tell PEOPLE he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon
- He’s got far too much to do and far too many enemies to deal with, one insider says
- Trump is on track to become the oldest president in U.S. history by the end of his second term
While President Donald Trump doesn’t like to think about his age — he turned 80 on Sunday, June 14 — sources close to the president tell PEOPLE he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
He’s got far too much to do and far too many enemies to deal with, one insider says.
“Donald is happily avoiding thoughts about his age and aging,” a political source close to the president tells PEOPLE. “He is too busy reveling in his power. He loves being talked about. Heading into a new decade is daunting for him, yet he lives in his own world.”
The source claims that “spending time getting back at enemies is his daily sport," adding, "It gives him satisfaction, confidence, and what passes for happiness to him."
Trump has spent much of his second term rewarding loyal allies and attempting to punish those he views as enemies, including elected Democrats and those in government involved in his criminal prosecutions while he was out of office.
And despite being on course to become the oldest president in U.S. history by the end of his second term, a former Trump team member tells PEOPLE that the thought of taking a break is unappealing to the octogenarian who holds multiple, lengthy public events each week — even if he appears to fall asleep in the Oval Office or elsewhere from time to time, an allegation the White House consistently denies.
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“He has aged in the sense that he rarely sleeps and looks zonked many days, but despite turning 80, he wouldn’t have it any other way,” the former team member says. “He has always been a workhorse and hates vacations. He is not a guy to sit on the beach and relax.”
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However, a social source tells PEOPLE that the 80-year-old president might skip out on some international travel after trips to China and Europe earlier this year. Last week, as he discussed a possible peace deal signing for the Iran war in Europe, Trump said he “won’t be able to be there,” but didn’t disclose why.
“President Trump is set in his ways and doesn’t like to be taken out of that comfort zone so I think he will travel as needed but try to get out of a lot of it simply because it’s more difficult than it was even five years ago,” the social source predicts. “He likes golf, spending time with his trusted circle of loyalists, and hearing how much people love him. He needs that boost and knows how to get it.”
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Another social source tells PEOPLE that Trump wants “to be 40 again, dancing around New York” and “being a big star,” but “the presidency with all of its responsibilities has aged him.”
“Knowing him, he won’t stop. He will keep his pace in [the] years to come as long as his health dictates it,” the source says. “He doesn’t sit around worrying about his health. He is busy, his brain is still working overtime, and he won’t let himself consciously slow down.”
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At Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., sources tell PEOPLE, his memory for acquaintances and club-goers is still sharp.
“He is like a memory clock when someone he likes or has known for years has a problem,” a Palm Beach source tells PEOPLE.
A regular dinner guest at Mar-a-Lago adds that when Trump is at the club, he is still “high energy and engaged in the evenings.”
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Not everyone is as laudatory of the president’s age and mental acuity. A Democratic political source tells PEOPLE that Trump “is a genius at selling the fantasy” that he hasn’t slowed down as he ages.
“He’s a great salesman. He has convinced people he is the Energizer Bunny and Sleepy Joe [Biden] is the one who can’t keep up,” the source says. “He has a base of followers who believe everything he says. As the years pass, he will be forced to continue the sales pitch.”
Trump is celebrating his birthday by hosting UFC matches on the White House South Lawn, the first event of its kind on the historic property that required an enormous arena to be built on the high-security campus. He shares his birthday with Flag Day and the anniversary of the U.S. Army's founding, and has claimed that he did not factor his birthday into the date when scheduling the fights.
“For one who wants to forget his birthdays, he hasn’t let anyone forget it this year,” the Democratic source says.