Promiscuity, Aging, and Donald Trump

While much is made of President Trump’s promiscuity, very little is said about health effects—or causes— related to this behavior. 

Consider that Trump likely has had multiple sex partners into his late 50s/early 60s— Melania Trump, Stormy Daniels, and Katherine McDougal (perhaps others, too).

The National Council on Aging conducts a survey on sexual activity of older people. One study found that half (48%) of older adults can be classified as “sexually active” (engaging at least once a month in vaginal intercourse; performing, receiving oral sex; engaging in anal intercourse; or masturbating). A majority of respondents in their 60s (71% of men and 51% of women) reported that they are sexually active, using these criteria.

Most respondents also report satisfying experiences (61% overall).

A separate report by Dr. Chris Iliades asks, “Can promiscuity threaten your longevity?”

Quoting Dr. Iliades: “The short answer is yes. Having a large number of sexual partners has been linked to poor sexual health and decreased longevity. Why? The more sexual partners you have, the greater your risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions like prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and oral cancer.”

Dr. Deirdre Lee Fitzgerald elaborates: “Promiscuity is one example of a class of high-risk behaviors. It is comparable to, and may coincide with, behaviors such as heavy drinking, gambling, and other thrill-seeking behaviors like driving too fast.”

So far, there are no visible effects of Trump’s sexual activities. (Some people disagree with this assertion.)

Referring in general to people who have many sexual partners, Dr. Fitzgerald says “it’s a kind of activity that brings them status” and helps “them avoid dealing with other challenging emotional issues.”

Whether Trump’s sexual forays bring him down in court or in an impeachment hearing, only time will tell. The fact that he has gone 10 years or more without an obvious physical side-effect might mean he’ll never have a medical consequence.

But his sexual restlessness does seem to indicate, as Dr. Fitzgerald noted generally about people, a need to “avoid dealing with other challenging emotional issues.”