Stephen Colbert addressed rampant social media speculation over the weekend that donald Trump had died during the return of his talk show. The host confirmed Trump is “very much alive,” joking with the audience, “We like our presidents alive.” The rumors reportedly began due to Trump’s absence from scheduled events on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Colbert poked fun at the flimsy evidence cited for Trump’s continued existence, noting that music playing in the Rose Garden was presented as proof. “Yes nurse I do see that flat line, but the patient is clearly alive becuase his iPhone is playing ‘Papa Loves Mambo,'” he quipped.
He then shared a clip of J.D. Vance discussing Trump’s health and energy levels. Vance stated Trump possesses “incredible health” and “incredible energy,” claiming he is frequently enough the last to go to sleep and the last to finish making calls at night.
colbert sarcastically suggested that not sleeping and being on the phone all night coudl indicate perfect health or a phone-sex line. He then impersonated Trump, humorously describing his attire and “bloated cankles.”
The show also tackled a video showing unidentified bags being dropped from an upper-story window at the White House. An administration official told reporters it was a contractor performing routine maintainance. Colbert characterized this as “perfectly normal” behavior, joking, “When the president’s not there, randos are let in to throw trash bags out the windows. It’s called democracy.”
Trump later claimed the video was AI-generated, stating people blame AI for negative events. Colbert responded, “You just blamed AI! Which means something really bad happened! Are you dead? Were you in those bags? Are you AI?”
Earlier, Trump told reporters he was unaware of the death rumors that circulated over Labor Day weekend. “No… I didn’t see that,” Trump told Fox News. He contrasted his situation with President Biden’s, noting, “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.”
However, sources close to the administration indicated Trump was fully aware of the online speculation about his death or declining health. One source stated, “He fucking sees everything.” An administration official,when asked about being directed by Team Trump brass to portray the president as strong,hung up the phone. The official did assert that Trump is “the healthiest I’ve ever seen him,” and any portrayal of him as frail is “fake news” and “malicious.”
