The White House is lashing out—again—over questions about President Donald Trump’s health amid his days-long absence from the public eye.
A day after angrily pushing back against unfounded rumors that the 79-year-old president was hospitalized at the Walter Reed Medical Center, the White House swung back into damage control mode on Sunday, fixating on a day-old post pointing out that Trump had not made any public appearances since his rambling address on the war with Iran on Wednesday.
“Trump has not been seen publicly since his primetime speech on Wednesday. 72 hours and counting despite the fact he hasn’t left DC,” independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X Saturday evening.
“No, you’re just a sick freak, Aaron,” the White House’s rapid response account replied.
“He was commanding one of the most daring rescue operations in modern history — executed with the precise force and might only our Great American Military can deliver,” it added, referring to Saturday’s successful rescue mission for a U.S. service member whose jet was shot out of the sky in Iran despite weeks of White House claims about uncontested skies.
Rupar shot back, “Actually, yes. My post was and remains entirely factual.”
Trump has yet to make a public appearance, but he was photographed at the White House on Sunday afternoon after returning from a bizarre presidential motorcade tour of Washington, D.C. Reached for comment by the Daily Beast earlier Sunday about the photograph of the hunched president, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle insisted: “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. President Trump’s commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also went on the defensive on Sunday, sharing a post by Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer, who railed against “the left” in response to a roundup of X posts speculating about the president’s health and whereabouts.
“While Trump, Hegseth and the entire military were working, this is what the left was doing. Fantasizing that Trump was in the hospital,” wrote Fleischer, who served as press secretary for President George W. Bush. “Never forget how deranged and hateful the opposition to Trump truly is.”
The White House had already struck back at the swirling speculation on Saturday, when the rapid response account complained, “Deranged liberals cook up insane conspiracy theories when @POTUS goes 12 hours without speaking to press. (They said nothing when Biden routinely went 12 days without speaking to press)”
Apparently to prove that Trump was well and performing his presidential duties, the account reposted a photo by CBS News’ Emma Nicholson showing a Marine sentry standing outside the West Wing on Saturday afternoon.
The presence of sentries signals that the president is in the West Wing or the Oval Office, as they are tasked with rotating shifts to guard the entrance.
“Fear not! President Trump literally never stops working,” the account wrote.
White House communications director Steven Cheung also sought to allay the conspiracies without addressing them outright.
“There has never been a President who has worked harder for the American people than President Trump. On this Easter weekend, he has been working nonstop in the White House and Oval Office. God Bless him,” he wrote on X.
Trump’s second term has been marked by growing concerns about his health as he nurses dark bruises on both of his hands, walks with visible swelling in his legs, and suffers frequent mental slip-ups and public sleeping fits.
Despite the laundry list of ailments, which the Daily Beast has comprehensively covered, the White House insists that Trump is in excellent health.
