Speculation about the health of President Donald Trump reached a fever pitch over Labor Day weekend, with online rumors falsely claiming he had died. The wave of conspiracy theories was so intense that even Trump’s public reassurances that he felt well were brushed off by critics as part of a supposed cover-up.
The president, who had nothing on his public calendar for three days last week, has often appeared with a purple bruise on his right hand — sometimes covered with makeup — and swollen ankles. At 79, he is the oldest person ever elected to the presidency, fueling questions about his health. For many hyper-online Americans, those details, combined with his absence from public view, were enough to spark speculation that he was gravely ill or already dead.
Rumors took off across TikTok, Reddit, and X. Influencers suggested the White House was recycling old photos to conceal the truth, while anonymous accounts spread unverified claims that drew thousands of shares. On Tuesday, when Trump returned to public view during an Oval Office appearance, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked him directly about the viral theory.
“How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?” Doocy asked. Trump laughed, saying he hadn’t heard about it until reporters mentioned it. He pointed to his packed media schedule from the previous week and said he had spent the weekend golfing in Virginia and posting frequently on Truth Social. Between Saturday and Monday, Trump shared more than 90 posts, including one declaring he had “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE!”
The episode underscored the deep mistrust surrounding presidential health. Trump’s critics have long questioned his physical fitness, just as he made President Biden’s health a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. Historically, U.S. presidents have often concealed medical conditions: Woodrow Wilson hid a stroke, Franklin D. Roosevelt rarely showed his wheelchair use, and John F. Kennedy masked chronic pain.
Trump himself has a long record of ambiguous disclosures. His physicians rarely answer questions from reporters, and there were no public medical briefings after an assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pa., last year. In 2018, Trump’s former doctor, Harold Bornstein, claimed aides removed Trump’s medical records from his office, a move the White House defended as routine. That same year, White House physician Ronny Jackson declared Trump in “excellent health,” despite high cholesterol levels.
More recently, Trump’s current doctor, Sean P. Barbabella, reported significant improvement in Trump’s cholesterol thanks to medications Crestor and Zetia. Outside cardiologists have questioned whether such results are typical. Trump also takes aspirin, which the White House says accounts for the bruising on his hand. Doctors note that aspirin can indeed cause bruising in older adults, especially those with sun-damaged skin.
As for his swollen ankles, Barbabella attributed them to chronic venous insufficiency, a condition where blood struggles to return to the heart. While some specialists agree it’s possible, others doubt that explanation, noting that the condition rarely causes swelling in both ankles.
Still, the White House maintains there is no cause for concern. “The president is perfectly fine and has tremendous energy,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “He has been fully transparent about his health with the American people — unlike his predecessor.”
