People are speculating that President Donald Trump is using a “hidden leg brace” following his stumble on the steps of Air Force One.
The unsubstantiated claims are doing the rounds on social media, as users have zoomed in on images of the president’s legs taken after the fall, which occurred Sunday as Trump was walking up the stairs to board the plane.
Trump turns 79 this Saturday. He was said to be in “excellent health” by White House physician Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella in April.
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, dismissed the claims as “conspiracy theories peddled by demented individuals hiding behind social media” in a statement to The Independent. “The President has been the most transparent president in history, and the recent medical report that was released clearly and unequivocally shows he is in peak condition,” Cheung said.
People on social media commented on what appeared to be markings on the president’s pants. “Trump is not well. His fall on Air Force One, his braces on his both legs under his knees, show signs of a very sick man,” one post that had reached more than 17,000 people said on X, without evidence.
A prominent account “dedicated to exposing right-wing extremism” shared close-ups of the president’s legs in the Rose Garden on June 9, a day after the stumble. “What’s going on here?” the poster asked, sharing pictures of what appear to be bulges on Trump’s legs.
The photos were taken when Trump was surveying the construction project on the South Lawn. “Trump isn’t stable enough to walk on the thick grass. He needs a flat surface. Leg braces and no one is asking him directly,” another person reacted. Photographs taken from the same scene show the president walking back to the White House on the grass.
Others speculated that the supposed markings on Trump’s pants suggested he is wearing a Foley catheter. “Fidel Castro used to wear this leg catheter to be able to give his hours long speeches,” another person reacted. “It’s a politician thing.”
The group Republicans Against Trump shared a photo on X of the president at Saturday’s UFC 316 in New Jersey. “Is Donald Trump wearing a Foley catheter?” the account asked its 900,000-odd followers.
The White House dismissed the claims as “fake news.”
“These conspiracy theories peddled by demented individuals hiding behind social media, and now being given a platform by the fake news, clearly suffer from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Cheung said in a statement. “These are the same people who have been caught trying to gaslight the American people for years by saying Joe Biden was cognitively fine, when in fact, he was in much worse condition than thought.”
Speculation over the president’s health comes following his own scrutiny of former President Joe Biden.
Following his slip-up on the steps of Air Force One, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio also lost his footing, it was noted that Trump frequently mocked Biden for the stumbles he took during his time in office.
In the summer of 2023, Trump mocked Biden for falling at the Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado.
He said it was “not inspiring” for the graduates to have seen the then-president take a tumble over a sandbag.
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