Key Points:
The hashtag “Trump is Dead” trended online after JD Vance’s comments about being ready to take charge if something happened to the president.
Rumours about Trump’s health spread after he was seen with a dark patch on his hand, though the White House said he has chronic venous insufficiency.
Trump denied the death and health rumours and shared a golf photo, which netizens claimed was fake.
US President Donald Trump is trending once again due to speculations about his deteriorating health. Social media erupted with a new hashtag, “Trump is Dead”, as many tried to figure out if the rumours were true. Netizens began digging out old Simpson theories and linking them to a recent JD Vance comment that fuelled the belief that Trump is actually dead.
The phrase “Trump is dead” went viral after JD Vance talked about the POTUS’ health in an interview with USA Today on August 27. In the interview, Vance stated that he was ready to take charge as commander-in-chief if something were to happen. His comment quickly went viral, leading to speculations that Trump is dead.
Vance commented on Trump’s health, saying that the 79-year-old is the last person to make phone calls at night and the first person to wake up. He praised Trump’s dedication to work, adding that “he is the first person making phone calls in the morning.”
Although Vance emphasized that the president was fit and in “good shape,” he added that if a tragedy were ever to happen, he could not think of “better on the job training” than what he had received in the last 200 days. “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,” stated Vance.
His sudden comment on Trump’s health coincided with rumours that Trump was facing severe health challenges after being seen with a dark patch on his hands. The White House stated in July that the president has chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition.
The rumours that Trump was dead were shut down immediately when the president wrote on his Truth Social account on September 1, 2025, that he “has never felt better.”
Rumours about Trump’s health have circulated for years, but they spiralled recently when the White House released a blank schedule last week. Trump denied all health rumours and addressed speculation about his absence by posting a picture of himself playing golf. Netizens, however, accused the pictures of being fake or AI-generated.
The “Trump is Dead” discourse intensified further when The Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s remarks at San Diego Comic-Con in July resurfaced. While talking about the animated series and its ending, the creator hinted at tying the show’s end to President Trump.
He refused to end the show right now but raised a technicality, saying, “We're going to go until somebody dies. When you-know-who dies, The Simpsons predicts that there will be dancing in the streets. Except President (J.D.) Vance will ban dancing."[Rh/VS]
Also Read: