President Donald Trump left the White House in golf attire Sunday morning and headed to his country club in Northern Virginia as rumors spread on social media that he was experiencing severe health issues.
Wearing golf shoes, black pants, a black pullover, and a white “USA” hat, he departed in an SUV and arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling shortly after 10 a.m., the New York Post reported.
“Great playing Golf with Jon Gruden — A really nice guy, and true character!” Trump wrote on Truth Social along with a photo of the former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach.
It was unclear if the photo of Trump golfing with Jon Gruden was taken on Sunday, The Post reported.
The president’s brief break from public appearances this week fueled unfounded speculation on social media that he was either seriously ill or had died. All of which are totally false and completely unfounded.
Speculation began Friday after the White House released a blank Labor Day weekend schedule for the president. By then, it had been four days since Trump’s last public appearance — a Tuesday Cabinet meeting at the White House.
Hashtags like “#TrumpIsDead” and “#WhereIsTrump” trended on X during the president’s absence and blank public schedule. He was last seen Saturday heading to his golf club with his granddaughter Kai.
Vice President JD Vance said last week that Trump is in “incredibly good health” but stressed he is prepared to assume leadership if necessary.
In an interview with USA Today published Friday, Vance was asked about Trump’s age; the president began his second term at 78 and turned 79 in June.
“The president is in incredibly good health,” Vance told the outlet. “He’s got incredible energy. He’s the last person making phone calls at night, and he’s the first person who wakes up, and the first person making phone calls in the morning.”
The vice president was asked, given that he’s “one heartbeat away from the presidency” and would be one of the youngest in U.S. history should he need to fulfill the role soon, if he was ready to be commander-in-chief.
“Yes, things can always happen. Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” Vance responded. “But 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.”
“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,” he added.
The White House released a memo last month from Sean Barbabella, the physician to the president, addressing mild swelling in his legs and photos that circulated showing bruising on Trump’s hand.
Barbabella said tests revealed Trump had “chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition among people over 70.”
Regarding the bruising, Barbabella said it was “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” a standard part of his cardiovascular prevention regimen.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), meanwhile, is supporting President Trump’s idea of holding a presidential-style Republican National Convention before the 2026 midterms.
During an interview on Fox News, Johnson said the president called him and mentioned the idea of Republicans holding a massive convention before the midterms to ramp up energy and excitement for the party to help them keep control of the U.S. House and Senate.
Johnson said Republicans won “every aspect” of the 2024 presidential election and predicted that the GOP is poised to “perform well in next year’s midterms.”