Trump resurfaces after a week, slams health rumours
Donald Trump has fronted media for the first time in nearly a week, putting an end to online conspiracy that he had died amid rumours of his declining health.
Source: AnewZ
The 79-year-old US President resurfaced to hold a press conference in the White House on Wednesday (AEST) for a major announcement.
His six-day absence was his longest stretch without addressing reporters since taking office, according to an assessment by CNN.
Trump last spoke to the media on August 26, but he was seen heading to the golf course over the US long Labor Day weekend.
News reports had also highlighted his swollen ankles and bruising on the back of his hand, which was still visible on Wednesday.
He said the conspiracies about him were “crazy”.
“Well, it’s fake news. It’s so fake. That’s why the media has so little credibility. I knew they were saying, like, ‘Is he OK? How’s he feeling? What’s wrong?’,” he said.
“It’s also sort of a longer weekend, it’s Labor Day Weekend … I was very active this Labor Day weekend.”
Trump’s physician, Sean Barbabella, has previously said in a letter released by the White House that his leg swelling was due to “chronic venous insufficiency”, a benign condition common in older people in which blood pools in the legs.
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Since then, the White House has played down concerns about Trump’s health, saying he is taking the leg issue in stride, without detailing how it is being treated.
Trump, 79, became the oldest person to assume the US presidency when he was sworn in in January.
He announced on Wednesday that the US Space Command Headquarters would move from its base in Colorado to Huntsville, Alabama — “forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City”, he said.
Trump made the same decision during his first term, but it was overturned by then-president Joe Biden in 2023.
Trump said shifting the headquarters would create more than 30,000 jobs in Alabama.
“I want to thank Colorado. The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting,” Trump said.
“They have automatically crooked elections. And we can’t have that.”
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Rumours of Trump’s death exploded on various platforms at the weekend with thousands of unverified claims after he hadn’t been seen in public for two days.
Hashtags such as #whereistrump and #TRUMPDIED were used across thousands of posts, putting fire under the rumours.
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By midday Saturday (Washington time), search inquiries for “Trump”, “is Trump dead” and “Trump dead” were reportedly topping Google, with “Where is Donald Trump” was trending on X.
However, he was later seen entering a vehicle at the White House with his 18-year-old granddaughter Kai.
Soon after, he took to his Truth Social platform to share a photo of himself playing golf with American football coach Jon Gruden at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
“Great playing Golf with Jon Gruden – A really nice guy, and true character! (sic)” he wrote.
‘Trump loses again!’
Also on Wednesday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from using the military to fight crime in California.
US District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the deployment of the National Guard and US Marines to Los Angeles was illegal.
The decision dealt a setback to Trump’s push to expand the role of the military on US soil, which critics say is a dangerous expansion of executive authority that could spark tensions between troops and ordinary citizens.
Breyer put the ruling on hold until September 12. The Trump administration is likely to appeal.
California Governor Gavin Newsom reacted on social media: “DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN” he posted on X.
“The courts agree – his militarisation of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly called Breyer a “rogue judge” and said the military deployment had saved Los Angeles from “mass chaos.”
“The President is committed to protecting law-abiding citizens, and this will not be the final say on the issue,” Kelly said.
The injunction applies only to the military in California, not nationally.
But the judge said Trump’s stated desire to send troops to Chicago and other cities provided support for his ruling, noting that the President said at an August 27 cabinet meeting that he had the right to “do anything I want to do … if I think our country is in danger.”
Trump has said the troops were needed in Los Angeles to protect federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement, after large-scale immigration raids triggered protests.
-with AAP
