On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made his first official appearance in the Oval Office after a brief absence over the weekend, his appearance being described as “withered.”
Arriving about 45 minutes late for his 2 p.m. Oval Office press conference to announce the deployment of U.S. Space Command to Alabama, reversing Biden’s decision to keep it in its temporary headquarters in Colorado, Trump delivered an unusually short speech. While he is often late for scheduled events, this decision followed rumors of his “death” that circulated over the weekend, raising questions about his health.
One progressive political commentator noted that he “looked more withered and orange than usual. I wonder if the press will ask the important question: Why was he gone for a week?” This statement follows the emergence of a conspiracy theory about a Trump replacement.
As President Donald Trump’s administration announced his death, a reporter asked him how he heard the rumors. Trump laughed and replied, “Really? I didn’t see anything. You know, I heard it was weird, but I gave a lot of press conferences last week, and they were all successful. They were going great, like they were going great, and then I stopped giving press conferences for two days, and they said there must be something wrong.”
Trump didn’t miss an opportunity to mock his predecessor. He joked, “Biden won’t be giving press conferences for months. You won’t see him, and no one will comment.”
More and more users began to point out Trump’s appearance during his announcement. One user said, “His eyes are still weird. Something’s wrong.” Another added, “He looks like he took an extra 50 minutes to look alert and camera-ready.”
Another pointed out that Trump’s hands were wearing more makeup than usual, as he had recently been warned that bruises on his hands were a sign of something worse. They wrote, “He looks bad. His hands are too full of makeup.”
Others, however, raised interesting points, given the popularity of “Mar-a-Lago face” among his Oval Office staff. One user asked, “Soft forehead, high cheekbones, did he spend all week getting Botox or plastic surgery?” Another added: “Bro, I just got a facelift.”
Space Command’s responsibilities include operations such as facilitating satellite navigation and military communications, as well as sending missile launch alerts.
Alabama and Colorado regularly vie for Space Command due to its significant impact on the regional economy. The location also represents a political victory, with Alabama and Colorado legislators claiming their states benefit from a prime geographic location.
Huntsville, Alabama, long nicknamed “Rocket City,” was home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The Army Space and Missile Defense Command is also headquartered in Huntsville, a nickname given to its contribution to the construction of the first rockets in the U.S. space program.