MS NOW host Katy Tur said President Donald Trump is “different than he was” in his first term, citing a notable decline in his energy as questions continue to arise about his health.

In an interview with The Daily Beast Podcast published Wednesday, Tur, who wrote a book about her experience covering Trump’s 2016 campaign as a reporter for NBC News, discussed a recent New York Times article criticized by the president that suggested she was showing “signs of fatigue” and confronting “the realities of aging.”

“He is different than he was,” Tur said. “He doesn’t have the same amount of energy. He’s not as coherent as he used to be. He hasn’t always been completely coherent, but he’s different now. He’s slower. His speech is slower. Sometimes you can see him falling asleep, or appearing to fall asleep in the Oval Office.”

“He’s about to turn 80,” he continued. “Anyone at that age is going to start to slow down.”

President Donald Trump listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event on drug prices, Nov. 6, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an event on drug prices, Nov. 6, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Tur added that “it is something new” for the US to have older presidents, citing the case of former President Joe Biden, who was 82 years old when he left office in January 2025.

“So what’s going on with Donald Trump? Is this just the beginning of a precipitous decline in terms of his health?” -Tur asked.

During the interview, Tur acknowledged that Trump is still active and is one of the most accessible presidents the US has ever had.

“It may be slowing down for him and slowing down because he’s getting older, but he’s still very mobile,” he said. “He’s traveling abroad, he’ll come back. He’s handing out Halloween candy. Sometimes these trips are one day. I mean, he’s still very committed.”

Tur also suggested that it is not fair to compare Trump to Biden.

“I went to the Christmas party during the Biden years and he came out at about eight o’clock and gave a speech to the room of assembled journalists and you couldn’t understand a word he said,” Tur said. “It’s different.”

Still, the White House lashed out at Tur for the interview.

“President Trump is the most accessible, energetic and transparent president in modern American history,” White House deputy press secretary Liz Huston told the outlet. “On the other hand, Katy Tur has long suffered from a serious case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Tur is a Democratic activist, not a journalist, and should not be taken seriously at all.”