Trump dismisses viral death rumors during Oval office announcement and the internet isn't thrilled
-AP.
Donald Trump publicly addressed and dismissed a wave of viral online speculation that he had died over the Labor Day weekend, calling the rumors “crazy” and “fake” during a live event from the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The rumors, which began trending under hashtags like #WhereIsTrump and #TrumpIsDead, gained traction after Trump went two days without making a public appearance. When asked about the online frenzy by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, Trump said he hadn’t seen the posts himself but was informed by his staff. “I have heard, it’s sort of crazy… It’s so fake,” he said. “I was very active this Labor Day.”
LOL: Trump says he had no idea about the weekend’s fake news rumor that he was DEAD — says he was “very active.”
Peter Doocy asked him how he found out he was supposedly dead.
Trump: “Really? I didn’t see that.”
“Last week I did numerous news conferences, all successful—and… pic.twitter.com/dClPuv9ZDKTrump criticized what he described as a media double standard, comparing his brief absence to President Joe Biden’s longer periods away from public events. “I didn’t do (public events) for two days and they said there must be something wrong with him. Biden wouldn’t do them for months… and nobody said anything,” he added.
Despite online claims to the contrary, Trump was spotted multiple times over the weekend at his Sterling, Virginia golf club. He was seen with his granddaughter Kai and golfing with former NFL coach Jon Gruden. A widely circulated photo of Trump with radio host John Fredericks was also scrutinized online, but Fredericks confirmed the image’s authenticity, stating it was taken on August 31.
Trump's appearance on Tuesday, where he spoke for nearly 50 minutes and took questions from the press, served as a direct rebuttal to the death rumors. “That’s fake news. That’s why the media has so little credibility,” he said.
Online, however, memes and jokes flooded platforms like X (formerly Twitter) as Trump arrived over 20 minutes late to his scheduled address, further fueling the speculation. One meme joked that Trump was “loading,” while others referenced long-standing conspiracy theories, including jokes about “The Simpsons” predicting his death. Despite the frenzy, Trump appeared physically well and made no mention of any health concerns.
The White House announcement is like 20 min late cause they’re doing this to Trump backstage to try and revive him. pic.twitter.com/7VfciETncE
— Pedro🧙🏻♂️ (@spidersgeorge_) September 2, 2025So we’re all just waiting for the Trump announcement to verify proof of life/health ?!? lol
— Princess of Misandry 👸🏽 (@Misandrist_QN) September 2, 2025
It’s been 12 minutes. Where’s the announcement???? pic.twitter.com/lOhsFClKumDonald Trump hasn’t made his 2 p.m. announcement yet.
— Evan (@daviddunn177) September 2, 2025
They’re still figuring out how to prop him up.trumps still alive pic.twitter.com/DGTwQTtKlJ
— M1das (@M1das_OW2) September 2, 2025me waiting for pop base to tweet “donald trump dead at 79” pic.twitter.com/ufA2xtlD7Y
— ۟ (@DEATHFORSOULS) August 30, 2025trump in the white house freezer pic.twitter.com/T3aLgjIBqo