Donald Trump had a crowd waiting for him in North Carolina on Wednesday. Supporters had been bused onto an airfield ahead of time, and the midterms are less than two months away
Before he could get there, though, he had to make it from the tarmac up the stairs of Air Force One. That short trip has become one of the most closely watched stretches of his day, and, once again, the internet was watching.
This time, however, people weren’t fixated on his feet. They were focused on the part of him that barely moved from start to finish.
Trump left Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 16. He was headed to a 7 p.m. rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport to campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
It was his third trip to Gastonia since 2020, and he needs it to count. Whatley trails former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper 49 percent to 38 percent in a September Elon University poll.
Footage of the departure spread quickly on X and Threads. The accounts that shared it noted that aides, including longtime staffer Natalie Harp, trailed him to the plane.
At first glance it looked like a routine sendoff. Airmen line next to the boarding staircase and snap salutes as the 80-year-old walks across the tarmac in a dark suit and red tie. Trump salutes back before heading up the steps and disappearing inside the plane.
According to viewers, something looks off.
From the first frame to the last, Trump’s left arm barely moves.
When he returns the airman’s salute, it’s his right hand that goes up. When he climbs the stairs, his right arm does the work of steadying him. When he steps on board, the right arm is still doing everything.
The left arm hangs loose at his side the entire time. It doesn’t lift, reach or help with anything, and it barely swings as he walks.
On Threads, that arm quickly took over the conversation. One user compared Trump’s posture to a loved one who has to be reminded to use her left arm when walking.
Another person replied, “I agree with you about his arm. I’ll be watching it from now on.”
One viewer on X turned to the aides following close behind him: “His accomplice parade follows to make sure he doesn’t fall…”
Others couldn’t get past the aircraft itself. “Is that Bribe Force One or no?” one person asked.
Another person noticed something completely different. “Why is Trump always slapping his thigh?? is it a habit? is he activating a walking assist device?” the tweet read. Then someone else zoomed in on his hair. “What’s going on with the back of his head?? Is that a chip implant??”
The White House maintains that nothing is wrong. After Trump’s Walter Reed physical in May, his physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, wrote that he remains in “excellent health.”
Barbabella reported strong neurological function and a perfect 30 out of 30 on a cognitive screening, according to Yahoo News.
The same memo put Trump at 238 pounds, up 14 pounds from the year before, and said he should focus on losing weight. It also noted slight swelling in his lower legs tied to chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition he was diagnosed with in 2025.
A dangling arm has drawn attention before. Back in December, video footage, as seen on X, showed Trump tapping his leg before walking down the Air Force One stairs in Palm Beach. One critic noticed that his arm hung loose afterward, although that time it was his right side.
Trump has admitted he treats stairs with extra caution. Speaking to military leaders in September 2025, he said his approach is simple: “Just try not to fall, because it doesn’t work out well.”
His travel days have given people plenty to study and analyze. In August, he struggled across a rainy tarmac in Ohio while cameras caught his tight grip on the rail and every careful step.
Not to mention social media questioned Trump’s crooked walk across the South Lawn in February, when they noticed him reaching for Melania Trump as his steps drifted off course.
Trump made it onboard and on to North Carolina, with one arm doing the work for both.
The White House has not publicly addressed the clip.
