Social media users are in an uproar, dissecting and overanalyzing any photo of Donald Trump following rumors that the president was in bad health.
This comes weeks after fans noticed his hand, which was severely bruised gently covered with a patch of makeup. Those rumors ramped up as people noticed the president had not been seen in public or on camera since Aug. 26, during a four-hour-long cabinet meeting.
That was until recent images of the former “Apprentice” boss at a golf event emerged, and what fans spotted in the photos became the real story.
The MAGA leader was reportedly seen golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Aug. 30 with his grandchildren, 12-year-old Spencer and Kai, 8.
White House officials previously insisted Trump was in good health, per a report from his former disgraced physician, whose medical license had lapsed in 2022. Officials also confirmed that Trump had no scheduled public appearances, and the press had not physically seen him either. But now another Trump sighting posted by another controversial person has raised eyebrows.
On Sept. 1, conservative radio host John Fredericks shared an image of himself with Trump at the same golf club on X and Instagram. Both flashed their crooked smiles and thumbs up as the president sported a white USA hat with gold lettering. But instead of focusing on their grins, fans zeroed in on the background, pointing out odd inconsistencies that didn’t quite add up.
“Supposedly, this is Trump today. And I have questions,” wrote one person.
Trump and Fredicks posed in front of a desk with two presumed workers in blue-collar shirts on the stairs with a portrait on the wall behind them. However, many who zoomed in noticed the picture on the left wall was missing in the reflection of a large mirror on the right.
In addition to those suspicions, it is believed that the photo is old and has since been digitally altered.
One individual pointed out, “How come in the mirror image, the picture on the stairs is not visible?!?”
At first glance, some assumed the person at the top of the stairs was a man until zooming in on the mirror to see a woman with her hair in a bun or low ponytail.
“Who’s the lady in the mirror?” asked one confused person. “How come the two men on the stairs are not in the mirror? This is as fake as it gets and like they didn’t even try to pull this off as a current photo.”
A third noted, “This image looks like it’s a few weeks old. You can see the makeup on his right hand (that’s the coverage he did a few weeks ago). It’s worse now. We all know they’re trying to cover something up. They’re posting photos from before he was bloated and looking rough. We will know something soon. What? No clue.”
A fourth noted, “This ‘Sept 1st’ Trump photo is digitally altered. The mirror exposes missing wall photos & bad reflections. Old pics recycled to mask his illness—hasn’t been seen live since Thursday. Cover-up is obvious.”
According to Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company on X, the photo was originally taken on May 29, 2024, despite media outlets reporting it as recent.
People even made jokes about those two onlookers, who were seen glaring at Trump with pained expressions on their faces, reigniting rumors of his supposed body odor.
“They are NOT fans. Or maybe they can smell him,” joked another user. “Man, look at those people behind him, the disdain on their faces,” noticed another user.
As social media continues speculating about Trump’s health, the president himself tried to quiet the noise by returning to his Truth Social app. He shared a message for all in his signature all-caps format, writing, “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” on Aug. 31.
Two hours later, he made another post, stating he was going to bed around 7 p.m., sparking fans and users online to relentlessly troll him, pushing Gavin Newsom‘s “grandpa” tweet in response.
