Donald Trump is set to make an ‘exciting’ announcement on Tuesday afternoon following the president’s days-long radio silence that fueled rumors about his health.
Initially, in its daily guidance notice Monday, the White House said only that Trump was due to make an announcement at 2 p.m. Tuesday from the Oval Office, without providing any further details.
The brevity and timing of the evening update set off a wave of online speculation over whether the president would address – or refute – rumors about his health, after being diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency in July.
However, Trump aides told Politico Tuesday morning that the president would not be announcing a shock diagnosis or his immediate retirement and that the announcement would be focused on defense.
“The President will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed later Tuesday morning.
Previously the president has said he intends to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, with reports that the administration is looking at how to make that happen.
“It used to be called the Department of War and it had a stronger sound,” Trump said last Monday. “We want defense, but we want offense too... As Department of War we won everything, we won everything and I think we're going to have to go back to that.”
The War Department became the Department of Defense through a gradual process, beginning with the National Security Act of 1947, which unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force under a single organization called the National Military Establishment.
An amendment to the law passed in 1949 officially introduced the name "Department of Defense," establishing the structure in place today.
Trump has been noticeably out of the spotlight after hosting a nearly 200-minute marathon Cabinet meeting last Tuesday. Despite reportedly indulging in a long Labor Day golfing weekend, the president made no media appearances in the past week.
After several days out of the public eye, “Where is Donald Trump” and “is Trump dead” ranked among Google’s top U.S. searches, while “TRUMPISDEAD” trended on X Saturday.
Others also cited Vice President JD Vance’s interview on Wednesday with USA Today, in which he said he’s ready to assume the presidency if a “terrible tragedy” occurred. However, in that same interview, Vance stressed that Trump is in “incredibly good health.”
Trump was finally photographed with granddaughter Kai Trump on Saturday, en route to his golf course in Virginia.
Amongst a flurry of Truth Social posts on Sunday, the president appeared to directly dispel rumors surrounding his health, writing: “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.”
Trump was photographed again on Monday, departing for the green at the Trump National Golf Club. He also gave an interview to conservative news outlet the Daily Caller, teasing a “Presidential Wall of Fame” in the White House Rose Garden.
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