Donald Trump addressed social media rumours that he died over the weekend, claiming he “didn’t hear” the fervent online speculation.
Mr Trump said the conspiracy theory was “pretty serious stuff” and dismissed it as “fake news”, insisting he was “very active over the weekend”.
An Oval Office press conference on Tuesday followed days of online speculation that the president was in ill health because he had no public engagements for a week.
Mr Trump initially said “I didn’t hear that” when he was asked what he was doing when he heard he was “dead” this weekend.
Pressed again about the rumours, Mr Trump said: “You know, I have heard it’s sort of crazy, but last week, I did numerous news conferences, all successful…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.”
Mr Trump added that he had posted a series of “pretty poignant” posts on his Truth Social platform over the weekend.
“I did numerous shows and also did a number of Truths, long Truths, I think, pretty poignant Truths. No, I was very active over the weekend,” he said.
He added: “They also knew I went out to visit some people at the club that I own, pretty nearby on the Potomac River. And no, I’ve been very active.”
Hand coated in make-up
During the press conference one of the US president’s hands also appeared to be covered in a layer of make-up, not for the first time.
Conspiracy theorists have suggested that this was a sign Mr Trump is ill and receiving treatment, although there is no evidence to support this.