Rumors circulated that the president was suffering from a serious medical condition. The White House claimed that he was perfectly fine and any reports to the contrary were partisan attacks. After a well-sourced newspaper article pointed to a cover-up, the president’s allies in the press vilified its author.
Grover Cleveland, from Library of Congress; Daily Public Ledger [Maysville, KY], July 7, 1893
This might sound like a story ripped from today’s headlines. But it happened in 1893. When President Grover Cleveland was diagnosed with oral cancer, he and his closest aides devised an elaborate scheme to keep the situation secret. They arranged for a risky surgery on a yacht, far away from nosy reporters. Then they lied to conceal the diagnosis and the operation. The rumors stayed unconfirmed for a quarter century.
Years after Cleveland’s surgery, a new White House crisis arose. The president stopped conferring with his cabinet members. He didn’t attend a formal cabinet meeting for months. When he finally did, he was disoriented and uninvolved. Some in Washington suspected the president wasn’t signing important documents himself.
Woodrow Wilson, from Library of Congress
A revelation from a recent political bestseller? In fact, this occurred more than a hundred years ago. In the fall of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a devastating stroke. His left side was paralyzed and, at least temporarily, he was mentally incapacitated. His condition was covered up by his wife, his doctor, and his secretary. They didn’t inform the vice president and secretary of state, who were next in line to the presidency. Edith Wilson screened visitors and correspondence, making decisions in her husband’s name and essentially taking control of the presidency. Cabinet secretaries suspected that she was forging his signature. Today the question we’re hearing is “Who operated the Biden autopen?”
Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson weren’t the only presidents who had a medical secret. Several others have also hidden the truth about their health.
Throughout his political career, Franklin Roosevelt led the public to believe that he had fully recovered from the polio infection he contracted at age thirty-nine. Actually, his legs were permanently paralyzed. Events were carefully orchestrated to hide his disability. The Secret Service confiscated the film of photographers who dared to take a picture of Roosevelt in his wheelchair.
John Kennedy cultivated the image of a young, vigorous president. Yet he had Addison’s disease, a life-threatening ailment for which he required regular medication. Kennedy and his doctor repeatedly denied that he had the disease. While in the White House, he was treated with addictive painkillers and amphetamines. That was kept hush-hush, too.
Franklin Roosevelt, from FDR Presidential Library & Museum
John Kennedy, from John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
History reveals a pattern of secrecy. The president has a medical issue that interferes with his ability to perform his duties. He and the people close to him decide to keep it quiet. They concoct a false narrative to obscure the truth. If anyone becomes suspicious, the White House denies, usually criticizing those who ask questions.
Why do these past cover-ups matter? Because history can be predictive. Human nature doesn’t change. For various reasons, these presidents were motivated to deceive the American public about their health. We shouldn’t be surprised if their successors have similar motivations in the future.
History helps us be critical thinkers. It shows the importance of asking questions and insisting on answers from our leaders. When we don’t get straight answers, we should expect journalists to dig for the truth on our behalf.
Maybe then we won’t be fooled again.
[This essay originally appeared on School Library Journal's Teen Librarian Toolbox blog, September 22, 2025.]