The president’s attempt to shut down chatter of his mortality may have only made things worse.

President Donald Trump, 79, was largely absent from public view for several days last week, sparking an online death-watch fueled by his visibly swollen cankles, bruising on his hands, difficulty walking, and a string of mental gaffes.

Though reporters spotted him in-person Saturday morning at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, Trump seemed to directly respond to the viral speculation on Sunday with a Truth Social post featuring a photo of himself golfing with disgraced NFL coach Jon Gruden.

But the post quickly backfired when eagle-eyed social media users dug up an Instagram post from Gruden dated Aug. 23, showing him in the exact same clothes—fueling theories that the image Trump posted wasn’t recent at all.

That hypothesis was all but confirmed after sleuths uncovered Associated Press footage from Aug. 23 showing Trump himself wearing the same outfit as the one in his Truth Social post.

  • spongebue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    16 days ago

    Huh, I didn’t know that either! I meant that at some point in his first term (“season 1”) he was there overnight but only for a few hours. It was a big enough deal to hit the news, but not for long at it was soon forgotten.

    To be honest with the relationship they have, I would think Melanie would only go to the hospital if Donald weren’t there, or if she had an ending to look forward to.