People are convinced they know exactly which procedure Donald Trump was doing when he was presumed dead over the weekend
Speculation about President Donald Trump’s health has been steadily increasing for weeks and it hit a new high and almost broke the internet after a rumor that he was dead spread like wildfire over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Now some social media users are convinced they know why Trump was incommunicado for days last week, something totally out of the ordinary for a president like Trump who loves media attention.
The new rumor, based on a photo of Trump earlier this week that appears to show a small bulge under his shirt on his right side, has it that Trump is wearing a ventricular assist device.
The device is a treatment for a weakened heart or heart failure and helps pump blood from the lower chambers of the heart to the rest of the body, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s mostly placed in the lower left chamber of the heart or left ventricle, and when placed there is referred to as a left ventricle assist device or LVAD.
Curious online sleuths are certain Trump is wearing the device and have pointed to the picture as proof.
“Suspicious. That’s weird. So, is nobody going to talk about what that is?” Samantha Marti wondered in a post on Tiktok that has gone viral.
“What was under this man’s suit jacket yesterday? You can see it. Can’t say we’re fake newsing that because it’s there. What is it? I think it’s an LVAD … It is the same shape an LVAD device box would be. It is placed right where it would be.”
“But they’re not transparent like they claim to be. They’ll never tell us if there’s something wrong with this man’s health,” she said.
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“So, we’re left to speculate. So, I’m going to speculate that’s an LVAD,” Marti continued.
And she’s not alone. Hundreds of people have joined in the discussion about Trump’s health.
“Trump LVAD or nah? It makes sense,” X user Christopher Webb agreed.
“See this pic of Trump today See in the cream coloured box He’s wearing either some kind of monitor Or that’s a medical battery pack For a device Nurses on TikTok are speculating it could be an LVAD for heart failure,” another X user said.
“Trump having [heart] problems wouldn’t surprise me one bit. It would explain the fluid on his legs and ankles,” X user Ryan Shead joined in.
But social media poster Adam Cochran disagreed, “Hard no. The surgery for an LVAD is invasive and intensive. It requires many weeks of recovery & observation. It would require almost a month in hospital for most patients – and even under careful medical observation Trump would not be up and moving around on LVAD after a week.
Another user shot right back asking, “What do you think it is then?”
Trump’s persistent health issues in recent months are no secret. He’s had swollen ankles, bruises on his hand and he largely disappeared last week with no on-camera sightings.
After an event Tuesday where Trump appeared confused and fumbled an answer — or was mocking this — to a reporter’s question about the rumor he was dead, social posts zeroed in on Trump’s right hand, the one that was bruised recently.
In fact, Trump has been sporting bruises on his hands on and off for weeks.
It’s unclear whether Trump has ever suffered from any heart problems because, just like during his first term, his physicians always give him a clean bill of health.
A White House press release in April from the president’s physician Navy Cpt. Sean P. Barbabella concluded, “President Trump remains in excellent health … [he] exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”
