President Donald Trump was seen heading out to play golf on Saturday after false rumors claiming he had died spread across social media. The rumors started after reports suggested he hadn’t been seen in public for a few days.
“I wake up to see people freaking out that Trump’s sick or dead or something because he hasn’t been seen in a few days,” wrote Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese on Saturday morning on X. “I was with the president yesterday afternoon. I interviewed him for an hour.”
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment on Saturday via email outside regular office hours.
Why It Matters
On Friday, false reports about Trump’s death began circulating online after he wasn’t seen in public for two days. As of 9:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, ‘#whereistrump’ was the sixth most popular trending topic on X in the United States.
According to platform analytics, there were about 158,000 X posts with the phrase ‘TRUMP IS DEAD’ and 42,000 saying ‘TRUMP DIED’ as of 7:48 a.m. ET on Saturday.
On TikTok, a video posted by user w0odada with the caption “Streets are saying donald trump is dead??? And he hasnt been seen publicly since Tuesday???” got over 600,000 likes and 3.5 million views. Another TikTok by progressive commentator Harry Sisson discussing and dismissing the rumor received more than 210,000 likes and 1.7 million views.
What To Know
Trump was seen with his granddaughter Kai Trump as they got into a vehicle on the south lawn of the White House. He wore a white polo shirt, black pants, and one of his signature red MAGA hats.
Trump’s motorcade left at 8:45 a.m. ET and headed to a golf course in Virginia.
False rumors about Trump’s death had appeared on social media before. According to Grok, X’s AI-powered chatbot, posts about Trump possibly being dead had over 1.3 million user engagements as of Saturday morning.
On Friday, Ben Meiselas, co-founder of the media outlet MeidasTouch, wrote on X: “Where did Trump go?! Where is he? What is happening? He has not made a public appearance in two days.”
Trump also posted on his official Truth Social account Friday evening:
“ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT! Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong. The U.S.A. will no longer tolerate enormous Trade Deficits and unfair Tariffs and Non Tariff Trade Barriers imposed by other Countries, friend or foe, that undermine our Manufacturers, Farmers, and everyone else.”
In July, photos of Trump’s bruised hand circulated online, and the White House confirmed he had chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which his doctor called “benign and common.” New photos this week showed more bruising, sparking further discussion about his health.
In a USA Today interview published Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said: “I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is gonna serve out the remainder of his term, and do great things for the American people.” He added: “If, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days.”
What People Are Saying
On X, BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh wrote:
“Last year, some right-wing users on X convinced themselves that President Biden had died and the White House was keeping it quiet. The exact same thing is now happening with some left-wing influencers on X, who seem to think President Trump is dead and a cover-up is underway.”
Political scientist Ian Bremmer said on X:
“So many times internet has gone wild with the putin is dead and xi is dead rumors. That now happening with trump says a lot more about the state of mistrust in information and institutions in the United States than it does about the health of the president.”
The Republicans Against Trump X account, which has over 940,000 followers, posted Friday evening:
“Donald Trump hasn’t been seen in public since Tuesday and has no events scheduled all weekend. Where is he? Who’s running the country?”
The post was shared 2,800 times and viewed over 1.5 million times. Vance told USA Today: “The president is in incredibly good health. He’s got incredible energy.”
What Happens Next
The photos and White House confirmation that Trump is going to play golf should stop the online rumors that the president has died.
