Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggerated
US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead

Donald Trump is alive – his appearance and insistence that he has "never felt better" rubbishing rampant online speculation alleging he was dead.
Rumours of his demise had been circling, and were boosted last week by an unusual lack of public presence by the limelight-seeking president for three consecutive days.
Flags at half-mast
The speculation appears to have begun when a photograph of what looked to be bruising on Trump's right hand went viral in June, sparking theories he had been on an IV drip. Weeks later, it was revealed he was being treated for a non-life-threatening condition causing poor circulation and swelling in his lower limbs, said Al Jazeera.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vice President J.D. Vance unwittingly fanned the flames when he said that if a "terrible tragedy" were to occur, he was ready to step into the role of president, seen by the conspiracy-minded as "evidence that something was awry".
As social media accounts began to call attention to Trump's absence from public engagements, hashtags like #trumpisdead and #whereistrump started trending and users searched for evidence to support the theory that the president was dying or dead, such as flags flying at half-mast at the White House. (This was actually in response to a school shooting.)
The story got a tongue-in-cheek boost when "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening said the long-running cartoon would end only when "you-know-who dies", a reference to the show's "reputation for supposedly predicting real world events", said The Mirror.
This is not the first time Trump has been rumoured to have passed away, said The Tab. In 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, social media was abuzz with hearsay that he'd died from an overdose of the virus treatment hydroxychloroquine. In 2022, a comedian sparked another Trump death hoax, and by 2023 it was enough of a trope that the president's son Donald Trump Jr. joked on Twitter that his father was no longer with us.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
'Degree of plausibility'
For rumours to spread, they must "have some degree of plausibility", said Psychology Today, with advanced age adding credence to speculation over the health of leaders. During his presidency, Joe Biden was also the subject of death hoaxes, as well as frequent speculation on his health and mental competence. Trump's physical condition and mental cognition have been called into question repeatedly during both his first and current terms.
Such tales are not new, with historical conspiracies having alleged the premature death of leaders from Joseph Stalin to Fidel Castro. But while nearly every US president has "been the subject of death rumours", most presidents served before social media, where platforms are "notorious for amplifying unverified claims", which can then rapidly "spread in the digital echo chamber".
Continually repeating a claim gives it credibility in an effect known as the "illusion of truth", and it follows then that more people are likely to believe it. Accusations that Trump's alleged death had been covered up simply played into the "widespread distrust" we have of politicians and the media. And in this context, "even the flimsiest of claims" can be accepted.
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardon
Feature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal
-
Pentagon readies military deployment in Chicago
Feature The Pentagon is preparing to deploy thousands of Illinois National Guard members to Chicago after Trump threatened to send troops into other major cities
-
Trump reignites Jan. 6 furor by awarding military honors to killed rioter
IN THE SPOTLIGHT With military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the president makes good on campaign promises designed to animate his political base while relitigating history
-
'Is it OK to be happy when the world is falling apart?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US Fed
Talking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank