The Balance of Confidentiality and Public Right to Know in Presidential Health

Woodrow Wilson’s hidden stroke. Franklin Roosevelt’s hidden wheelchair. John F. Kennedy’s chronic back pain. There is a historical tendency to obscure the health problems of American presidents from public view.

But justifiable question surrounding how far loyal aides and the White House will go to conceal the full picture of the president’s health – and the media’s role in uncovering it – are increasingly being raised following President Joe Biden’s medical decline.

Washington journalists find themselves grappling yet again with the fair, but sensitive issue, after unfounded speculation about Donald Trump’s health – and impending death – recently spread online.

Host Caryn Ceolin is joined by American author, presidential historian and journalist Garrett Graff to discuss how the president’s health should be covered in an age as volatile as now.

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