On Saturday, 4 April, online speculation spread that 79-year-old US President Donald Trump had been taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland for medical treatment.
This rumour began circulating when the White House unexpectedly called a press 'lid'—a routine announcement that the president would make no more public appearances that day—and Trump did not appear before the media for several hours. The sudden lack of visibility was unusual and prompted users on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to suggest he might be in the hospital.
