President Donald Trump’s latest media move sent Washington spinning again. Instead of calling in or appearing live, the 79-year-old president answered CNN’s State of the Union questions by text message. This action reignited speculation about his health and vanishing public presence.
During the broadcast, host Jake Tapper read out Trump’s typed replies. It appeared on-screen as the show aired. The president spoke of his “hopes for peace” in the Gaza–Israel war and vowed the “complete obliteration” of Hamas if the militants refused to release hostages. Yet it wasn’t his words that grabbed the nation’s attention, it was the format.
Trump hasn’t been clearly seen in public since earlier in the week. Vice President JD Vance later posted a photo of Trump and Melania sharing a private dinner with him and his wife Friday night. But instead of calming nerves, the image only fanned talk that the president was avoiding public view amid growing rumors about his health.
It’s always a good time when you get to have the boss over for dinner!
Usha and I were so grateful that President Trump and our lovely First Lady, Melania, could join us for dinner at the Vice President’s Residence last night.🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8XDsXyj8oD
— JD Vance (@JDVance) October 3, 2025
Within hours, social media erupted. Users traded theories about possible undisclosed treatments. “So if Trump is getting a treatment every 28 days that’s likely what… prostate/colon cancer or congestive heart failure infusions?” one post read. The thread exploded. It pulled in hundreds of comments and wild medical guesses.
Another user chimed in: “My guess is he is getting Kisunla treatments, a monoclonal antibody drug given by monthly infusions to remove amyloid plaques from his brain. It is given to people wih signs of Alzheimer’s who have a family history or other risk factors. If this were known, it would be the 25th amendment in a heartbeat.”
The speculation snowballed. “Cancer, I had bladder cancer treatment once a month for 30 chemo treatments,” another wrote, adding personal experience to the mix. “Getting 28-day spaced infusions for dementia,” said someone else.
Then came a longer post from commentator BC Price: “I think it’s Alzheimer’s. He shows up for two press conferences, appears sedated, slurring, and rambling. We all know he has dementia. His father died with Alzheimer’s. They prop him up for one or two days a week, and then he disappears. Steve Miller and Russell Vought are running our country.”
The “infusion” theory caught fire. “I was thinking the same thing. Maybe kidney dialysis???” another user agreed.
Fueling the frenzy, The Daily Beast reported that Trump was seen after a four-day absence with a bruised hand covered in makeup. Online, the conspiracies only went further. “Because he was in Walter Reed getting his monthly treatment, we’re gonna go through this every month. They’re pumping him full of drugs to keep this slug alive until they complete their project 2025. After that, they will have no use for him and they will let him die,” one person wrote.
Even a short weekend clip showing Trump golfing failed to quiet the noise. “How do you know that was from today? Trump couldn’t even do a telephone interview with Jake Tapper and had to resort to doing it by text message which seems to indicate he’s not capable of playing golf today,” one user posted.
Others questioned CNN’s role in the spectacle. “This wasn’t an interview… It was SOMEONE texting Jake Tapper and how does anyone know if it really was Trump.. WTF is wrong with him that he can’t even use a phone to talk. Is he too busy golfing,” one wrote. Another added, “Anyone could have answered those questions for him. How does Tapper even ensure that was Trump? That was pathetic.”
The drama only escalated Sunday when Trump showed up nearly an hour late for his scheduled address at the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia. Families and sailors waited on the pier as the clock ticked past 3:30 p.m., his speech didn’t begin until around 4:30. Observers cracked jokes about the delay. “Cosmetic sessions on face, hand and feet took longer due to furloughed staff,” said one user. Another joked, “Maybe he’s finally learning how to use a beauty blender.”
By the end of the weekend, questions about Trump’s health, his rare appearances, and his increasingly erratic presentation style were everywhere. The CNN text-only interview, something no sitting president had ever attempted, added to the public unease about the nation’s oldest commander-in-chief.
The mystery isn’t new. Back in early September, a photo made the rounds online showing what looked like a small bulge beneath Trump’s shirt on his right side. That image sparked yet another theory, that he might be wearing a ventricular assist device, the kind used to help a weakened heart pump blood.
According to the Mayo Clinic, such devices help circulate blood from the heart’s lower chambers through the body. When attached to the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, it’s called an LVAD.
Presidential health secrecy has a long history. John F. Kennedy’s Addison’s disease, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s paralysis, even Ronald Reagan’s cancer surgery, all were downplayed or hidden at the time. And now, decades later, that same tradition of secrecy shadows Donald Trump’s second term. It has left Americans to piece together the story from fragments, photos, and the president’s vanishing acts
