President Donald Trump finally addressed his health after his days-long disappearance from the public eye last week sent the rumor mill into overdrive.
After making a fresh appearance at his golf course over the weekend, Trump, 79, cemented his clapback to ill-wishers in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” Trump wrote in his typical all-caps fashion in response to a post by conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley slamming the “comical double standard” on public appearances by the president.
“Joe Biden would go multiple days at a time without any public appearances and the media would say he’s ‘sharp’ and ‘top of his game.’ Meanwhile he was wearing diapers and napping,” O’Handley, who goes by DC Draino online, said in a Truth Social post.
“President Trump puts in more public work hours than any other POTUS in US history and media freaks out if he disappears for 24 hours,” he added.
Social media users put Trump on death watch after journalist Laura Rozen noted that the president had no public events scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
Before stepping out for golf on Saturday, Trump’s last public sighting was at a lengthy Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where his bruised hand once again made an appearance. The bruise, along with his swollen ankles and mental gaffes, hypercharged speculation that he had died.
Last month, the White House said the discoloration on Trump’s hand was “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.” The cankles, it added, were due to chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition where veins struggle to push blood back to the heart.
Vice President JD Vance added fuel to the fire by telling USA Today last week that he was ready to step up if Trump’s health fails.
“I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people,” he said. “And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days.”
But Trump swiftly shut down conjectures about his mortality by hitting the links in Virginia on Saturday along with his granddaughter Kai.
Later, he further tried to drown out the noise by going on a bizarre Truth Social posting spree that included diatribes about his newly renovated Rose Garden and the death of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
The posting spree continued into Sunday night, this time featuring updates on his crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., and a rant about Democratic consultant Donna Brazile’s appearance on ABC News.
“Donna is dumb as a rock, and a liar besides,” he wrote. “She, and Sloppy Chris Christie, should be fired from a highly discredited ABC Fake News.”
