Despite the White House insisting he remains in “perfect” health, Mr Trump fed the flames of speculation during a rally in Dalton, Georgia, this week, ahead of the November mid-terms. Addressing the crowd, the president made an offhand comment about Chinese president Xi Jinping, who he said “was here last week”.

In reality, Xi visited the US and met with Mr Trump during a three-day trip from September 23 to 25, around three weeks ago. The apparent blunder sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with one user labelling him “Dementia Donnie”. Another wrote: “He doesn’t [know] what day it is. It’s gonna get worse as he goes along.”