What happened
Publisher: The National
Author: Abbi Garton-Crosbie
Published At: 2025-09-02 21:02:32 (Tuesday evening)
DONALD Trump has broken his silence after rumours that he had died spread like wildfire on social media. The US President had not been seen for three days over the weekend, leading to speculation about his health, particularly after the White House confirmed in July that Trump had chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition which causes leg swelling.
Remarks by his Vice President JD Vance that he is ready to take the top job if a “terrible tragedy” happened to Trump, did not help to quell rumours. And, a major spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon and other key US government sites further fuelled rumours over Trump's condition. But now, Trump has given a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, where he said the US Space Command headquarters will move to the "beautiful locale" of Huntsville, Alabama.
READ MORE: 7 members of Defend Our Juries 'arrested in police raids' Trump said it would be known as "rocket city" going forward. When asked if he was aware of the social media rumours, Trump said: "No". "I didn't see that," he added. "You know, I have heard...it's kinda crazy but last week I did numerous news conferences, all successful, they went very well like this is going well.
"And then I didn't do any for two days, and they said there must be something wrong with him. "Biden wouldn't do it for months, you wouldn't see him, and nobody ever said there was anything wrong with him, and he wasn't in the best shape." Trump insisted he was "very active over the weekend", adding: "It's fake news, you know, it's just so fake.
"That's why the media has so little credibility." The President insisted that he had taken a "longer weekend" and that he was "very active" on Labor Day, which is a federal holiday.
Source coverage
Publisher: The National
Author: Abbi Garton-Crosbie
Deeper analysis
Full source content
DONALD Trump has broken his silence after rumours that he had died spread like wildfire on social media. The US President had not been seen for three days over the weekend, leading to speculation about his health, particularly after the White House confirmed in July that Trump had chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition which causes leg swelling.
Remarks by his Vice President JD Vance that he is ready to take the top job if a “terrible tragedy” happened to Trump, did not help to quell rumours. And, a major spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon and other key US government sites further fuelled rumours over Trump's condition. But now, Trump has given a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, where he said the US Space Command headquarters will move to the "beautiful locale" of Huntsville, Alabama.
READ MORE: 7 members of Defend Our Juries 'arrested in police raids' Trump said it would be known as "rocket city" going forward. When asked if he was aware of the social media rumours, Trump said: "No". "I didn't see that," he added. "You know, I have heard...it's kinda crazy but last week I did numerous news conferences, all successful, they went very well like this is going well.
"And then I didn't do any for two days, and they said there must be something wrong with him. "Biden wouldn't do it for months, you wouldn't see him, and nobody ever said there was anything wrong with him, and he wasn't in the best shape." Trump insisted he was "very active over the weekend", adding: "It's fake news, you know, it's just so fake.
"That's why the media has so little credibility." The President insisted that he had taken a "longer weekend" and that he was "very active" on Labor Day, which is a federal holiday.
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