Trump’s Schedule Says ‘Golfing’ as the Press Was Kept Away — Then One Detail Blew the Story Apart
Donald Trump’s daily schedule is usually treated like a formality, but this time a single word lit a fuse online and sent armchair analysts into overdrive.
The White House shared a message with the press corps on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 9:22 a.m., laying out what the president planned to do the day before New Year’s Eve.
The update was simple and almost boring: Trump was scheduled to spend the day golfing, with no public events on his calendar. Not long after, the motorcade pulled into Trump International Golf Club at 9:21 a.m., pool vans peeled off, and reporters were told to hold across from the club. The president himself was not seen.
On paper, it all sounded routine. In reality, the word “golfing” immediately raised eyebrows. Online, attention drifted away from tee times and scorecards and locked onto something else entirely: whether Trump physically looked capable of doing much walking at all. The disbelief had less to do with where he was going and more to do with how he has been moving lately.
That skepticism exploded after political journalist Aaron Rupar posted the notice on Threads, writing, “Trump is golfing today and has no public events on his calendar.”
The replies didn’t focus on his swing.
One user asked bluntly, “Is he actually golfing? He can barely walk nowadays.”
Another joked, “Stuart: darn autocorrect: was supposed to be ‘goofing.’”
A third commenter added, “Well, to be fair, he doesn’t do a lot of walking on his golf outings. Mostly rides in the cart, gets out, hits the ball into the weeds, and then drives the cart to where his caddy has placed his ball.” Still another person asked, “Did you see him yesterday? What makes them think he’s going to walk hole to hole?”
The tone bounced between sarcasm and disbelief, with someone else chiming in, “Not only will he golf, he will win every game. Even before stepping cankle on the green. He’s a machine! Amazing!”
Another piled on, asking, “Remember, he drives his cart onto the green?”
The fixation didn’t come out of nowhere. Recent clips of Trump walking have circulated widely, often slowed down, zoomed in, and replayed frame by frame. In one moment, captured as he prepared to board a plane after a rally, viewers zeroed in on his cautious steps and an unusual tap on his right leg just before descending the stairs.
That scrutiny was just as intense as Trump prepared to head to Pennsylvania for a speech on Dec. 9. Cameras caught him approaching a private jet alongside an escorting Air Force officer, drifting close enough that it appeared he nearly knocked the officer off balance. What stuck out wasn’t the destination but his gait: his left foot crossing inward, his path wobbling under bright runway lights, and a moment that prompted viewers to ask whether it hinted at right-side weakness.
Another clip pushed the conversation further.
In footage near the armored presidential vehicle, Trump’s legs appeared to falter briefly before he made an odd adjustment, then received unexpected support as he maneuvered into the car. Fans and critics alike zoomed in, dissecting the sequence as if it held some hidden answer about his condition.
President Trump exited Air Force One tonight in West Palm Beach. He is headed to Mar-a-Lago.
. pic.twitter.com/Z4vBY8qobw— Paul Villarreal (AKA Vince Manfeld) (@AureliusStoic1) December 20, 2025
Layered onto all of this was renewed chatter about a couple of Trump’s golf properties.
Reports tied to one of his clubs have painted an unflattering picture of behind-the-scenes operations, including claims of employees showing up impaired while on duty. While unrelated to his physical movement, those stories added to the sense that the polished image of a carefree golf day didn’t quite line up with the details people were seeing and sharing.
By the end of the day, the question wasn’t really whether Trump had played a few holes or ridden in a cart. It was about perception. A schedule that said “golfing” collided with viral clips, jokes, and speculation that suggested something didn’t add up.
In that gap between the official line and what viewers thought they saw, the internet did what it does best — fill in the blanks.