Donald Trump Health Fears: Viral 'Cankles' Video Sparks Concerns POTUS Is In Pain

Donald Trump has sparked fresh online speculation about his health after a viral video from a golf tournament in Virginia showed him riding in a golf cart as a passenger rather than driving it himself.

The clip was filmed on Saturday at the LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Golf Club on Lowes Island in Sterling, Virginia. It came less than a week after Trump appeared at the final round of the PGA Tour's Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami. Reports have noted that he often drives his own cart during such appearances, which is why the footage has drawn so much attention online.

'Cankles' Claims Spread Online

The footage, shared widely across social media, shows Trump seated in the front of a golf cart while an unidentified caddie drives. That small detail was enough for some online commentators to revive long-running rumours about Trump's health, including claims about swelling around his ankles.

Online reaction was swift, with users across X speculating that swollen ankles and hand weakness may have made driving the cart difficult or painful. One of the more detailed posts claimed Trump's swollen ankles likely made it 'too painful or physically impossible to press down on the foot pedal.'

None of those claims has been supported by medical records or official confirmation. Trump's team has not publicly addressed the footage, and no doctor has linked him to the specific conditions being discussed online. At present, the claims remain speculative.

Not everyone accepted that interpretation. One observer suggested a more routine explanation linked to course rules, arguing Trump may not have been allowed to drive as freely at a LIV event as he might at one of his own clubs. Another joked that officials had 'taken gramp's licence away', framing the moment less as a health issue and more as a question of driving habits.

Images from the event later showed Trump on his feet, speaking with his son Eric Trump behind what was described as a bulletproof glass partition and waving to spectators. Supporters have pointed to those scenes as evidence that he remained active and publicly engaged during the appearance.

Summit Adds Pressure

The renewed speculation has surfaced just days before Trump is due to travel to Beijing for a closely watched meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two-day summit, expected later this week, is set to focus on the war in Iran, trade tensions, Taiwan and other long-running flashpoints. It will be their first face-to-face meeting since October, when they met in South Korea and agreed to pause a trade war after the US imposed triple-digit tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing threatened pressure on rare mineral supplies.

The backdrop has changed significantly since then. The United States is now involved in war with Iran, a country widely seen as China's closest partner in the Middle East, contributing to a wider global energy crisis. The conflict has also strained US munitions supplies, a point some Chinese analysts have cited when discussing Washington's ability to defend Taiwan during a prolonged confrontation.

Against that backdrop, Trump has continued to speak warmly about Xi in public, describing him as 'a friend'. Even so, expectations for the summit remain limited. Zhao Minghao, an international relations scholar at Shanghai's Fudan University, said 'we probably shouldn't expect this meeting to have particularly substantial, major breakthroughs', suggesting it may instead serve as a starting point for further engagement.

So far, there is no verified evidence that Trump was in pain in Virginia or that his ankles, hands or any other physical issue stopped him from driving the cart. Unless his doctors, staff or official records say otherwise, the claims circulating online remain unverified.