As Donald Trump turns 80, he faces a foe he can never defeat: Father Time. That’s a problem for us all

Donald Trump, the oldest US president sworn into office, is showing evidence of serious decline, observers say Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian : White House, Planet Pix, ZUMA Press Wire, Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Donald Trump, the oldest US president sworn into office, is showing evidence of serious decline, observers say Composite: Alex Mellon for the Guardian : White House, Planet Pix, ZUMA Press Wire, Shutterstock As Donald Trump turns 80, he faces a foe he can never defeat: Father Time. That’s a problem for us all Alarm over the judgment and behaviour of the world’s most powerful man, and the consequent risks to the world, can only get worse The main Nuremberg trial ended, Winston Churchill warned of an iron curtain descending across Europe, It’s a Wonderful Life received its premiere and, at Jamaica hospital in the borough of Queens, New York, Donald John Trump was born . It was 1946, also the birth year of George W Bush and Bill Clinton, but on Sunday the current US president celebrates his 80th birthday in a style uniquely his own. Trump will stage a night of cage fighting on the once-pristine White House south lawn as part of events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. The blend of visceral bloodsport with political spectacle under metal scaffolding may offer brief respite for a president also consumed with an unpopular war, rising inflation, plunging poll numbers and a foe not even he can bully, bomb or outrun: Father Time. “Donald Trump has been showing signs of his age for quite some time,” said Tara Setmayer , a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill. “It’s on display almost daily as he struggles to stay awake during official meetings, he is more irritable and going on rage tangents and throwing temper tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. These are not signs of a well-adjusted adult approaching 80 years old.” Trump is the oldest US president sworn into office and, some critics say, showing alarming evidence of decline as he becomes an octogenarian, a status that more than half his predecessors never achieved and that found Gerald Ford playing golf, Jimmy Carter immersed in humanitarian work and Ronald Reagan organising his memoirs. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in February found 61% of Americans thought Trump had become more erratic with age, and another survey in April showed a majority concerned about his temperament and mental sharpness. View image in fullscreen A bandage on President Trump’s hand in the Oval Office at the White House on 11 June. Photograph: Daniel Heuer/Reuters The physical evidence is increasingly difficult for his aides to conceal, though they aggressively project a narrative of vigour. The president has been photographed with bruised hands and swollen ankles, ailments his medical staff continually brush off as a “slight” issue. He sees 22 medical specialists, an apparent new bar for presidents . His public calendar has grown notably sparse, dominated by hours of nebul