President Donald Trump’s decision to conduct an exclusive interview with CNN’s State of the Union host Jake Tapper entirely by text message set off a fresh wave of speculation Sunday about the health and public visibility of the 79-year-old commander in chief.
Instead of speaking by phone or appearing on camera, Trump texted Q&A responses that were displayed on-screen throughout the broadcast. The president discussed his “hopes for peace” in the Gaza-Israel conflict and pledged “complete obliteration” of Hamas if the terror group refused to release hostages. But the unusual format drew far more attention than his remarks.
Trump’s last confirmed public sighting was earlier in the week.
Vice President JD Vance later posted a photo of Trump and First Lady Melania dining privately with him and his wife on Friday, but the image did little to quiet speculation that Trump was ducking public view amid ongoing health rumors.
Discussion soon spread across online platforms, with some users speculating about potential undisclosed medical treatments.
“So if Trump is getting a treatment every 28 days that’s likely what…prostate/colon cancer or congestive heart failure infusions?” one user wrote who began a thread that garnered over 700 comments with speculation after speculation over Trump’s repeated disappearance.
Another added with further analysis, “My guess is he is getting Kisunla treatments, a monoclonal antibody drug given by monthly infusions to remove amyloid plaques from his brain. It is given to people wih signs of Alzheimer’s who have a family history or other risk factors. If this were known, it would be the 25th amendment in a heartbeat.”
The theories kept coming, “Cancer, I had bladder cancer treatment once a month for 30 chemo treatments,” added another with a touch of their personal experience.
“Getting 28 day spaced infusions for dementia,” added another.
Another extensive theory came by way of BC. Price, “I think it’s Alzheimer’s. He shows up for two press conferences, appears sedated, slurring, and rambling. We all know he has dementia. His father died with Alzheimer’s. They prop him up for one or two days a week, and then he disappears. Steve Miller and Russell Vought are running our country.”
The infusion plausibility seem to win many over, “I was thinking the same thing. Maybe kidney dialysis???”
It didn’t help that Trump showed up after his 4-day disappearance with a heavily bruised hand covered in makeup, reported The Daily Beast.
In the comment section, speculation persisted. “Because he was in Walter Reed getting his monthly treatment, we’re gonna go through this every month. They’re pumping him full of drugs to keep this slug alive until they complete their project 2025. After that, they will have no use for him and they will let him die,” one user wrote.
Even a brief video clip of Trump golfing over the weekend failed to calm the rumors.
“How do you know that was from today? Trump couldn’t even do a telephone interview with Jake Tapper and had to resort to doing it by text message which seems to indicate he’s not capable of playing golf today,” one post read.
Skeptics also questioned CNN’s decision to publish the exchange. “This wasn’t an interview… It was SOMEONE texting Jake Tapper and how does anyone know if it really was Trump.. WTF is wrong with him that he can’t even use a phone to talk. Is he too busy golfing,” one post said. Another added, “Anyone could have answered those questions for him. How does Tapper even ensure that was Trump? That was pathetic.”
Adding to the scrutiny, Trump appeared nearly an hour late for his speech at the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary celebration in Virginia on Sunday, leaving sailors and families waiting in silence on the pier at Naval Station Norfolk. The address, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., did not begin until around 4:30 p.m.
Observers joked online that the delay was related to Trump’s use of makeup.
“Cosmetic sessions on face, hand and feet took longer due to furloughed staff,” one post read, referencing the ongoing government shutdown. Another wrote, “Maybe he’s finally learning how to use a beauty blender.”
The speech capped a weekend dominated by questions about Trump’s health, his limited public appearances, and his increasingly unpredictable presentation style. His text-only CNN interview — unprecedented for a sitting president — further deepened the public’s uncertainty about his condition and fueled debate over his transparency as the nation’s oldest commander in chief.
The White House has been preoccupied with controlling the narrative, from memes to health rumors, often responding in ways that raise more questions than answers.
The situation only grew murkier in early September, when a photo appeared online showing what looked like a small bulge under Trump’s shirt, on the right side of his torso. The image sparked speculation that the president might be wearing a ventricular assist device — a medical apparatus used to help a weakened heart pump blood more efficiently.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the device supports circulation from the lower chambers of the heart to the rest of the body. When attached to the left ventricle — the heart’s main pumping chamber — it’s referred to as a left ventricle assist device, or LVAD.
Previous administrations have gone to great lengths to conceal the president’s health problems from the public. John F. Kennedy’s team hid his Addison’s disease, while Franklin D. Roosevelt’s paralysis was largely kept from public view through careful staging and limited press access.
Even Ronald Reagan’s aides were accused of minimizing the seriousness of his cancer surgery in 1985. The tradition of secrecy, rooted in the belief that publicizing a president’s frailty could project weakness to allies and adversaries alike, continues to cast a shadow over Trump’s second term.
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