Transcription
This past week, Trump went missing. No rallies, no angry Fox hits, not even a golf sighting, just gone. And in his absence, people started connecting the dots. The swollen ankles, the bruised hands, the shaky walk, and even those weird tangents about heaven. By the weekend, the number one trending topic online wasn't Trump policy or Trump 2025. It was, "Is Trump dead?"
Three of the top four search terms have been Trump related. Over 3 million searches about Trump and his health, whether he's dead or alive, where he is, and if he's missing. And it certainly didn't help that the closest thing that we got to a proof of life for Trump is something that looks like one of those Bigfoot sightings. Here he is on Saturday apparently on his way to play golf with his two grandchildren. Then on Sunday allegedly going to play golf with John Gruden. And again on Monday, Memorial Day with nothing on the schedule.
This guy looks like he's barely existing, but he's supposed to be MAGA's tough guy, the alpha male, the strong man. >> You sure about that? And on Sunday, while he was magically on the golf course, he posted on True Social, "Never felt better in my life." And despite all the rumors and chatter online, there is still not a single verifiable video or photo of Trump actually playing golf in the last few days. Not one.
Which is strange because if there's one thing that Trump loves more than diet coke and yelling at reporters, it's being filmed on the golf course. Trump hasn't spoken to a camera in almost a week. And for him, that's not just unusual, it's historic. It's literally a record. The man lives for microphones and cameras.
And just to make things worse, his own vice president, JD Vance, went on TV and said this. >> As vice president, you're a heartbeat away from the presidency. And your boss is one of the oldest people to ever be sworn into office. You're one of the youngest people to ever be second in line. Are you ready to assume the role of commander-in-chief? And why should Americans trust you to lead the country? >> Uh, yes, things can always happen. Yes, terrible tragedies happen. But I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people. 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. >> Yeah.
Nothing calms the public down quite like your VP basically practicing your eulogy. That's not reassurance. That's a Shark Tank pitch for his own presidency. I mean, imagine if your pilot walked out of the cockpit before takeoff and said, "Hey, if the captain drops dead mid-flight, I think I've got this. Anyway, buckle up." So, now you've got Vance doing his best audition monologue while Trump is hiding from the public and reporters.
Trump's last public appearance before this was a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. That's where people spotted bruising on his right hand. And the day before, he was literally trying to hide his hands like a kid in detention, covering up graffiti on his desk. Then, nothing. Wednesday, nowhere. Thursday, vanished. Friday, still missing. Journalist Laura Rosen posted a screenshot of Trump's weekend schedule. It was empty. No public events listed for Saturday, Sunday, or even Monday, which say what you want about Joe Biden, but if he went missing for 4 days, Fox News would already have his casket photoshopped on screen.
So, while the rest of the country started playing a live-action game of where's Waldo, except in this case, Waldo is clinically obese, wearing a red hat and linking bronzer into his bloodstream, the MAGA world launched into damage control. One MAGA influencer by the name of Johnny MAGA posted, "Left Trump is dying. He hasn't been seen in 3 days. Trump spent three days examining security footage to see who damaged his limestone." So, you're saying the reason that Trump has not been seen in front of a camera or talking to reporters was because he was busy investigating a crack in his ugly patio? That's the narrative you're going with, that he spent more time looking into this than he did the Epstein files. >> Yikes.
Another influencer posted a video of him at the White House greeting supporters, insisting that he was fine. Here's one user on Instagram with the caption, "President Trump working on the big beautiful bill with the side of golf action. Thank you for all that you do. Real Donald Trump. Great seeing you." [Applause] [Music] >> Bravo. >> Thank you. >> Hi, Mr. President. >> Only problem with that video is it was from June 28, 2025. Awkward.
And then came the videos of Trump playing golf to show that he was alive and well. Sean Ferish posted a video saying Trump is alive and well and hitting pin straight bombs down the fairway. Suck it, libs. [Music] Look, I know that comprehension isn't MAGA's strong suit, but I would hope they would know that there are no palm trees at Trump National in Virginia. Actually, scratch that. These are the same people who are actively defunding education and breaking out into hives at the sight of basic facts. So, expecting them to know geography is like expecting Trump to know how to use stairs. Unrealistic.
Anyway, after doing some digging, I discovered that this video is from 2024 and has been posted across various accounts on different social media platforms and accounts like Trump wins 365 posted a photo on Threads saying Trump with his granddaughter Kai today golfing. If you look at the photos or videos, Trump's granddaughter Kai is also wearing a completely different outfit in the video than she is in the photos taken from the weekend. And then Trump thought that he could fool everyone by posting a somewhat blurry photo of himself in a golf cart with the caption, "Great playing golf with John Gruden, a really nice guy in true character." Wow. Bragging about golfing with a coach who resigned for racist, sexist, and anti-gay slurs. >> Shocker.
And then the official White House rapid response team reposted that on their Twitter account. But once again, this is an old photo. This photo of Gruden is at least a week old. Here is Gruden in that same hat, shirt, and shorts on August 23rd, 2025 that he posted on Twitter and Instagram. And when someone commented Trump National and VA, Gruden responded by saying, "What a place." Now, if we look closely at Trump's shoes from the photos taken of him this weekend, his shoes are white with a black stripe. However, the shoes he's wearing with Gruden are all white. And after his team tried to cover up his health problems by claiming that he was golfing, the only photos we actually got were of him leaving and returning. Suspicious. >> Nothing from the course itself like he normally posts.
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This is hands down the sloppiest coverup I've seen from this administration so far. And that's saying a lot considering the fact that we've already had Signalgate and the Epstein files. And here's the thing, Trump and his supporters have only made this thing worse. Because when your proof of life relies on a throwback photo dump, you're basically admitting that you don't have anything current to work with.
And then you have Trump sick of fans like Bridget Gabriel tweeting, "It is sickening to see so many leftists on social media spreading false rumors about President Trump and his health. The Democrats have no class." Oh yes, of course it's the Democrats that have no class, not the Republican party that stormed the Capitol, beat up cops, and smeared their own on the walls inside. Or the fact that Don Jr. and Trump supporters mocked Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, after he was attacked with a hammer inside their own home by a right-wing nut job. Or even how Republicans mock Joe Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis. But sure, it's the Democrats that have no class.
And it wouldn't be MAGA if they weren't hypocrites. Because while Bridget Gabriel was upset at Democrats for having no class, she also previously posted asking, "Is Joe Biden alive?" asking if Joe Biden was senile, then saying Joe Biden was senile and that Joe Biden is not well. So now with Trump vanishing for days, the script has flipped. Suddenly his team is cranking out post after post on True Social to give the impression that everything is fine.
This whole thing honestly reminds me of this scene from Toy Story. >> He's lying. Bus ain't there. Oh, hi Buzz. Why don't you say hello to the guys over there? >> Hi, fellas. To infinity and beyond. >> Hey, look. It's Buzz. >> That's what these posts feel like. A frantic puppet show meant to reassure the base that nothing's wrong while everything looks wrong. But here's the thing that people need to remember. This kind of flood the zone activity on True Social doesn't actually prove anything. It's a propaganda play.
And if you want to see how the machine works, just look at this clip from Art of the Surge during the 2024 campaign where Trump's own team used coordinated posting to overwhelm the narrative. >> Shakeable dream to be the scientist. >> How many people are watching? >> Can we tell how many, Dan? >> How many people are watching? >> She's talking about how great San Francisco was before she destroyed it. A lot of talk about childhood. We've got to get to the border, inflation, and crime. Gathering Cindy's the things of which she complains the things of which she complains >> of which she >> in many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man that >> of the consequences >> of the consequences >> ready these prosecutions were all started by her and Biden >> against their political opponent >> me >> get that out right She paid and raised bail. She paid bail to get the violent >> Yeah. >> writers in Minnesota out of jail. >> Tim, Minnesota the matches. >> Put it in there. Put it right in with the stuff. >> With that post, >> you would use the power. >> You could do it either that or separate. >> Say more lies. Lying about the Project 2025. Oh, lying against Project 2025, which he knows and so do all Democrats that I have not that I have absolutely nothing to do with.
And no matter how many posts they pump out, no matter how many old golf clips they recycle, it doesn't change the underlying truth that even Trump seems to know that people are whispering about his mortality. During a recent interview with Trump, he went on a bizarre tangent about heaven. >> I think that's a pretty I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons. Well, I think I saved a lot of lives with India.
First off, try that's not how heaven works. You don't just negotiate your way in like a New Jersey real estate deal. And second, bottom of the totem pole, that's an understatement. If heaven had a TSA checkpoint, Trump would already be on the no-fly list. Now, it's easy to make jokes, and we definitely should because this man has bragged about his perfect health for years now. Meanwhile, his ankles are doing balloon animal impressions and his hands are covered in more makeup than a Broadway cast.
But the serious point is this. Trump's health is a national security issue. And every time leaders hide their health problems, the public pays the price. Because secrecy and denial don't just create rumors, they create instability. And that is what we're watching play out right now. Thanks for watching What Was That. If you want more episodes, articles, and breakdowns, go to whatwasthat.com. Join the community and become a paid subscriber today. It's just me behind the scenes, so every bit of support really makes a difference. And if you'd rather listen on the go, you can find What Was That on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your shows. Until next time, I'm Gabe Sanchez, and this has been What Was That. [Music]