Air Force One's Abrupt Landing Sparks Trump, 79, Health Fears — Leaving Social Media Users Suspecting 'Prez Suffered Medical Emergency'
President Trump's plane, Air Force One, was forced to return to Washington shortly after leaving for Switzerland.
Jan. 21 2026, Published 12:34 p.m. ET
Air Force One was forced to make a sudden and unplanned return to Washington Tuesday night, only an hour into President Trump's flight to Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum.
Officials blamed the quick turnaround on a "minor electrical issue," but RadarOnline.com can report many people are wondering if the issue was secretly a setback with the president's fragile health.
Trump Turns Back
White House officials said there was a 'minor electrical issue' on board.
The president's plane returned to Joint Base Andrews shortly after its 10:20 p.m. takeoff. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the traveling media the crew experienced a "minor electrical issue" and turned around "out of an abundance of caution."
However, given the ongoing speculation over the 79-year-old Trump's health, conspiracy theorists online questioned the reasoning.
"Trump is experiencing a health emergency on Air Force One," one person reasoned in a tweet, as another mocked: "A pacemaker is a small electrical issue."
While one person blasted: "Turns out even the jet couldn’t stay airborne under the weight of Trump’s fraud, fascism, and frequent flyer felonies."
Another user wrote: "President Trump is rumored to have suffered a medical emergency on board Air Force One."
One user questioned: "Hmmmmmm. Minor electrical or major medical?"
Trump's Air Force One Struggles
Online concerns centered on the president's health.
Trump's health has been scrutinized intensively during his second term, and photos and videos of him struggling to walk up and down the steps of Air Force One are plentiful.
Last week, Dr. Bruce Davidson, a professor at Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, said he believed Trump suffered a "stroke on the left side of his brain" as he laid out "lines of evidence supportive" of his theory.
Davidson made the claims during a recent appearance on The Court of History podcast with hosts Sidney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz.
"I think his stroke was on the left side of the brain, which controls the right side of the body," the professor claimed. "I think the stroke was six months ago or more, earlier in 2025."
He then pointed to concerning patterns displayed by Trump last year, including slurring his words and an unsteady gait.
Stroke Clues?
A doctor speculated Trump had a stroke last year.
"There are videos of him shuffling his feet, which is not what we'd seen previously when he was striding on the golf course," Davidson explained. "We've seen him holding his right hand cradled in his left."
"Earlier in 2025, he was garbling words, which he hadn't done before and which he's improved upon more recently," he noted before moving on to Trump's "marked episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness."
As RadarOnline.com reported, the president has been caught with eyes closed, seemingly dozing off during meetings in recent months. Just this week the 79-year-old appeared to briefly nod off during the signing of a school milk bill in the Oval Office.
Trump's Fear of Falling
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Trump has had issues walking up and down the plane's stairs.
After a recent return to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago resort, the president looked to have some difficulty exiting Air Force One, moving slowly and clutching onto the railing the entire way down. He also paused for a brief second while making his way toward the ground.
Trump has been open about his fear of falling down steps in the past, sharing in September 2025 how he didn't want to be like Joe Biden, who had fallen on the steps of Air Force One.
"Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs," Trump claimed at the time. "I’m very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs—like I’m on stairs, like these stairs—I walk very slowly. Nobody has to set a record. Just try not to fall because it doesn’t work out well... Just walk nice and easy. You don’t have to set any record."
