President Donald Trump has broken his silence after rumors of his death began circulating online over the weekend.
The 79-year-old's health has been on full display since reclaiming the Oval Office for his second term in January, with the POTUS persistently criticizing his predecessor - notably saying during the build-up to the election last year that former 46th President Joe Biden's 'competency and age' was a 'top concern for voters'.
Of course, 'Sleepy Joe' - as Trump called him - was 78-years-old when he moved into the White House, and by the time his term was up, he was 82 years old.
Meanwhile, Trump was the oldest presidential candidate to be sworn in as president in US history, and will be 156 days older at the end of his four years than Biden was at the end of his term.
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As for the bizarre rumors that broke the internet over the weekend, thousands of people assumed the Republican had died after not being seen in public for days. But now, the president has now spoken out - proving that he's very much alive and well.
But first, let's quickly detail why these whispers began.
Incredibly, it started because the former businessman hadn't been seen in public for two days, sparking speculation online about what may have happened to him, given that he is usually seen in public almost every day.
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Although, Trump had no public events scheduled for Saturday (August 30) - around when the gossip started - and rather than assume the president had simply taken the day off, everyone rushed to conclude he was dead.
Taking to Truth Social, the president has now distinguished all claims that he's dead... although he didn't need to, as he was in fact pictured on the South Lawn with his granddaughter Kai Trump the same day, as they prepared to visit the Trump National golf course in Sterling, Virginia.
"NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE. Also, DC IS A CRIME FREE ZONE! President DJT," he posted.
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That was in reply to one MAGA supporter who penned on the platform: "Joe Biden would go multiple days at a time without any public appearances and the media would say he’s 'sharp' and 'top of his game'. Meanwhile he was wearing diapers and napping.
"President Trump puts in more public work hours than any other POTUS in US history, and media freaks out if he disappears for 24 hours. Comical double standard."
It's important to note that Biden never wore diapers while in office.
Then there was Vice-President JD Vance's comments that helped stoke the rumors.
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"I've had a lot of on-the-job training in the last 200 days, but the president is in incredibly good health. He's got incredible energy," Vance told USA Today, late last week.
"While most of the people who work around the president of the United States are younger than he is, I think that we find that he's actually the last person to go to sleep, he's the last person making phone calls at night, and he's the first person who wakes up and is the first person making phone calls in the morning."
The vice president noted that 'terrible tragedies happen', but feels 'very confident that [Trump] is in good shape' and will serve the remainder of his second term.
Joe Yates