The beginning of September brought more than just back to school memes to students’ social media, rumors of President Trump’s untimely death hit a peak across platforms.
The hashtag of “Trumpdead” was splashed across the internet along with pictures of the president of the United States that were heavily scrutinized.
“Recently, Trump has been seen with bruising on the back of his right hand, sometimes poorly concealed with makeup, and swelling around his ankles. The White House has said Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which means veins in the legs can’t properly carry blood back to the heart, causing it to pool in the lower legs. It’s a fairly common condition for older adults,” ABC’s Eyewitness News said.
The noise of his declining health hit a peak earlier this month when President Trump first learned of his ‘death’ during a press conference. A Fox News reporter, Peer Doocy, directly asked the president about the rumors. President Trump answered by relaying that he had seen worries regarding his health, but not of his death. He quickly dismissed them as “fake news” and that he had been “very active over the weekend.”
“Last week, I did numerous news conferences… and then I didn’t do any for two days and they said ‘there must be something wrong with him.’ Biden wouldn’t do them for months, you wouldn’t see him, and nobody ever said there was ever anything wrong with him and we know he wasn’t in the greatest of shapes,” President Trump said during the same press conference.
He also had previously posted about his health concerns the previous week. Trump directly addressed his health Truth Social, stating, “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE”.
Though the rumors were put to rest in a rather timely manner, The Guardian reported that “it did offer an insight into an online culture ripe with conspiracy theories, liberal fantasies about Trump’s premature demise and an attention economy in which he has created an expectation that he will all but livestream his presidency 24/7.”
His lack of news, reports on offhanded comments, memes, or posts on socials led to the world holding its breath.
“The fevered rumours did underline how Trump is missed when he is not filling the airwaves. For this president, nothing could be more shocking than the sound of silence,” The Guardian said.
The #Trumpdead rumor sparked a new conversation. One that humors how the world would react if the president did pass. Now holding the context of Sept. 10 and the death of activist Charlie Kirk’s death, the world has an exemplary instance.
The digital world has now shifted to a new divide on how one should act regarding the death of a political actor that you do not share views with. Controversies have risen on whether it’s okay to mourn or be horrified at the violence of Kirk’s death, even when being a Democrat or a Liberal.
