Ex-President Donald Trump's exit from a July 31 press conference has kicked up a storm of speculations regarding his health, with social media users analyzing video clips of what seemed to be an unstable departure.

The ceremony, staged at The White House, commenced with Trump revealing a $200 million upgrade of the State Ballroom and signing an executive order to revive the Presidential Fitness Test.

Joined by Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and athletic icons such as Bryson DeChambeau and Lawrence Taylor, Trump promoted building "a nation of strong, proud, and unstoppable young Americans."

That buoyant tone was altered shortly thereafter by Instagram promoters Brian and Ed Krassenstein when they published a brief video clip of Trump exiting the podium.

A post shared by instagram

Slow-motion replayed footage seemed to indicate that the right side of Trump's body momentarily weakened.

"The entire right side of his body almost gave up and he almost collapsed then he looked around to see who saw," one Instagram user said.

Others made guesses at medical reasons, with one posting, "Probably a mini stroke, who knows?" and another adding, "He knew it happened, totally involuntary, and he looked to see if anyone noticed."

Others made less apocalyptic explanations, that his jacket had been caught on the podium or that cufflinks might have tripped him up.

Others had a joke: "The grim reaper is approaching?" and, "His sick body is catching up with his sick mind."

The event comes after years of public speculation regarding Trump's health, from his unannounced 2019 trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—which led to rumors that Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby—to his severe 2020 bout of COVID-19 and, most recently, his July 2025 diagnosis with chronic venous insufficiency.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has already spoken out about Trump's clearly swollen ankles, blaming them on the benign circulatory disorder, one that is prevalent in adults over the age of 70.

Trump is 79 years old and still the oldest president to be sworn in in the history of the country.

Although the July 31 moment was moot, it highlighted how each public appearance is parsed in the age of social media — and how questions regarding his fitness for office still follow him.

Tags
Donald trump