President Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed back against viral rumors about his health that had spread widely on social media over the Labor Day weekend.
After carrying out more than two dozen public events in August, including a Cabinet meeting on August 26, Trump’s schedule went quiet. That unusual pause led to memes and false claims online that he had died or was suffering from serious health problems. On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had “never felt better.”
At a White House press conference on Tuesday, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked Trump directly about the viral rumors.
“About a big viral social media trend over the weekend: How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead? Did you see that?” Doocy asked.
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Trump quickly replied, “No.”
Doocy explained that millions of people online had been sharing false claims about his health. “People didn’t see you for a couple days. 1.3 million user engagements as of Saturday morning about your demise.”
Trump appeared surprised. “Really?” he said.
Doocy pressed again: “You didn’t see that?”
Trump then gave a longer answer, saying the claims were nonsense. “Well, I didn’t see that. You know, I have heard it’s sort of crazy, but last week, I did numerous news conferences, all successful. They went very well. Like this is going very well and then I didn’t do any for two days and they said there must be something wrong with him.”
DOOCY: How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?
TRUMP: …
DOOCY: You see that?
TRUMP: No … I heard that. I get reports. pic.twitter.com/AowJJtAWGL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 2, 2025
He compared the scrutiny over his break in public appearances to how President Joe Biden was treated while in office. “Biden wouldn’t do them for months, you wouldn’t see him and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him, and we know he wasn’t in the greatest of shape.”
Trump went on to list several activities from his weekend. “I did an interview that lasted for about an hour and a half with somebody, and everybody saw that was on one of your competitors. I did numerous shows and also did a number of Truths, long Truths, I think pretty poignant truths. No, I was very active over the weekend.”
He also mentioned spending time away from Washington. “They also knew I went out to visit some people at the club that I own pretty nearby on the Potomac River. And no, I’ve been very active actually, over the weekend. I didn’t hear that one. That’s pretty serious stuff.”
The president’s public pushback on the rumors marked his first on-camera response to the viral claims, which had dominated discussion on social media over the Labor Day weekend.
Featured image via X screengrab
