Trump announcement live updates: President to make Oval Office appearance amid speculation about health

“NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” the president wrote on Sunday night, linking back to a Truth Social post from another user making disparaging comments about former president Joe Biden’s health. The user added that the “media freaks out if Trump disappears for 24 hours.”

Ted Goodman, spokesperson for Rudy Giuliani, has given an update on the former New York mayor’s condition:

“Mayor Giuliani is progressing well following the motor vehicle accident that occurred Saturday evening, shortly after the mayor and I stopped to help what appeared to be a person in need of immediate assistance. He has been discharged from the hospital and appreciates the love, well wishes and prayers. The mayor would like to thank the New Hampshire State Police, paramedics, Elliot Hospital, and all the physicians and nurses who provided incredible care.”

Sitting at the Resolute Desk, Trump appeared to be covering up the back of his right hand by placing his left hand on top of it while speaking with reporters. This past weekend, Trump was seen with a patch of makeup over his hand, seemingly covering a recurring bruise.

But at various points in the press conference on Monday, reporters could see a flash of the extensive bruise across the back of his hand.

President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly poised to announce the relocation of the U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama, as early as Tuesday, Reuters reports, citing a US official and a person familiar with the deliberations.

The decision would reverse a move made under President Joe Biden’s administration, which had selected Colorado Springs as the permanent home for the military’s newest combatant command in 2023. Such a relocation could spark controversy, with critics arguing the switch appears designed to favor Alabama, a reliably Republican state, over Colorado, which has increasingly voted Democratic in recent elections.

Space Command currently operates from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs on an interim basis. Huntsville, home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a major hub for defence contractors, such as L3Harris and Lockheed Martin, has long lobbied for the Space Command headquarters.

It is not confirmed yet whether this is the subject of today’s Oval Office announcement.

Trump has been noticeably out of the spotlight after hosting a nearly 200-minute marathon Cabinet meeting last Tuesday. Despite reportedly indulging in a long Labor Day golfing weekend, the president made no media appearances in the past week.

After several days out of the public eye, “Where is Donald Trump?” and “Is Trump dead?” ranked among Google’s top U.S. searches, while “TRUMPISDEAD” trended on X Saturday.

Others also cited Vice President JD Vance’s interview on Wednesday with USA Today, in which he said he’s ready to assume the presidency if a “terrible tragedy” occurred. However, in that same interview, Vance stressed that Trump is in “incredibly good health.”

Trump was finally photographed with his granddaughter, Kai, on Saturday, en route to his golf course in Virginia.

After the White House schedule was published on Monday evening, on Tuesday morning, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The President will be making an exciting announcement related to the Department of Defense.”

Previously, the president has said he intends to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, with reports that the administration is looking at how to make that happen.

“It used to be called the Department of War and it had a stronger sound,” Trump said last Monday. “We want defense, but we want offense too… As Department of War we won everything, we won everything and I think we’re going to have to go back to that.”

The War Department became the Department of Defense through a gradual process, beginning with the National Security Act of 1947, which unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force under a single organization called the National Military Establishment.

An amendment to the law passed in 1949 officially introduced the name “Department of Defense,” establishing the structure in place today.

Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the Trump administration as the president is set to make an “exciting” announcement from the Oval Office this afternoon.

This is the first official engagement for Trump since his marathon three-hour on-camera Cabinet meeting last Tuesday.

It comes after a holiday weekend of speculation regarding the president’s health after an uncharacteristic absence from the public eye.

However, Trump was seen playing golf over the weekend at his course in Virginia and continued to comment on current events via his Truth Social platform.