It was a Labor Day picnic in Duluth, Minnesota, but the mood was anything but ordinary. As Governor Tim Walz took the stage on September 1, 2025, the crowd was already abuzz with the latest online spectacle: wild rumors that President Donald Trump had died. Over the prior weekend, social media had erupted with hashtags like #TrumpIsDead and #WhereIsTrump, feeding a frenzy that, for a brief moment, had many Americans doom-scrolling for updates. The falsehoods were so pervasive that even seasoned political observers paused to check their phones.
Governor Walz, a Democrat and former running mate of Kamala Harris during their unsuccessful 2024 campaign, didn’t shy away from the moment. In fact, he leaned in—joking about the very rumors that had taken the internet by storm. "You get up in the morning and you doom scroll through things," he told the crowd, pausing for effect. "Although I will say this, the last few days you woke up thinking there might be news. Just saying. Just saying. There will be news sometime, just so you know. There will be news." According to The Post Millennial, the crowd responded with laughter, seeming to relish the irreverent tone.
Walz’s remarks, captured on video by local outlets like Northern News Now, quickly became a lightning rod. Some in the audience and online found the governor’s comments humorous—a bit of gallows humor in an era of relentless political drama. Others, however, saw the joke as tasteless, especially given the recent history of violence against political figures. As Outkick’s David Hookstead put it, "It takes a really low-class individual to joke/fantasize about a political opponent dying. I don't care what side you're on or who you vote for. The leader of America dying would be horrific, no matter who it is."
The furor over Walz’s comments was intensified by the context in which they landed. President Trump had survived two assassination attempts in 2024—one in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, when a gunman grazed his ear after firing into a crowd, and another on September 15, when Secret Service agents apprehended a would-be assassin armed with an AK-47-style rifle at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. As The Daily Caller reported, the specter of violence has haunted Trump’s presidency, fueling both public anxiety and partisan rhetoric.
The rumors of Trump’s death that swirled in late August and early September 2025 were sparked by his unusual absence from public view for about 72 hours. Prior to the rumors, Trump and his Cabinet had held a lengthy televised meeting and fielded questions from the press. But when the president disappeared from the public eye, speculation ran wild. Left-wing pundits and influencers on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky amplified the unfounded theories, with some even expressing disappointment when Trump reemerged. Twitch star Hasan Piker, for example, told his viewers, "As I warned you before, evil never dies."
Amid the online chaos, Trump himself responded with characteristic bravado. On Truth Social, he dismissed the rumors and health concerns, posting, "NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE. Also, DC IS A CRIME FREE ZONE! President DJT." Vice President JD Vance echoed the sentiment, describing Trump as being in "incredibly good health" with "amazing energy," according to Breitbart. The White House had previously confirmed in July that Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described as "benign and common," particularly among people over 70.
The speculation was definitively put to rest on August 30, when Trump was seen playing golf in Virginia with his granddaughter, Kai Trump. Photos and videos circulated widely, showing a relaxed president on the green, a far cry from the dire rumors that had dominated the internet just hours before. The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese, who spent an hour with Trump that day, reported that he was "fine," pouring cold water on the social media hysteria.
Still, the episode highlighted just how quickly misinformation can spread—and how eager some are to believe the worst about their political adversaries. Walz’s joke, while intended as a bit of dark humor, touched a nerve in a country where political violence is no longer unthinkable. His office, when contacted by multiple outlets including Outkick and The Daily Caller, did not respond to requests for comment as of September 2.
In his speech, Walz went beyond the Trump joke, urging the crowd to "stand up for democracy" and "what’s right." He added, "We can be kind and still kick the living sh*t out of them. You can do both those things." The crowd, according to The Post Millennial, responded enthusiastically. But the remarks also drew criticism from those who saw them as further evidence of escalating rhetoric on both sides of the aisle.
The incident has reignited longstanding debates about civility in American politics. Some Democrats and left-leaning commentators argue that their language is a response to what they see as existential threats posed by Trump’s administration. As The Daily Caller noted, Democrats have not hesitated to label Trump a "threat to democracy," a narrative some believe contributed to the intensity of opposition—and even the attempted attacks—against him. On the other hand, conservatives and right-leaning voices see comments like Walz’s as examples of the double standards and dangerous rhetoric they believe are tolerated when directed at figures like Trump.
Amid the finger-pointing, there’s a broader story about the power of social media to shape, distort, and amplify reality. The false rumors about Trump’s death, which trended for days, were a potent reminder of how quickly misinformation can take hold. Even as journalists and eyewitnesses debunked the claims, the narrative persisted until Trump himself appeared in public, golf club in hand.
As the dust settles, the Labor Day episode serves as a cautionary tale for politicians and the public alike. Jokes about a sitting president’s death, even when intended as humor, carry real weight in a nation on edge. And in an age where a single tweet can spark a national firestorm, the line between satire and incitement has never been thinner. Whether Americans will heed the lesson remains to be seen, but for now, the country moves forward—one viral rumor, one political zinger, and one round of golf at a time.
