It is needless to say that, concerning world leaders, conspiracy theories and unbridled speculation often abound on the internet, and U.S. President Donald Trump has not been left out.
However, over the course of time, several odd rumors have surrounded him, including odd lumps in his garments to the popularly-theorized idea that his wife Melania is being replaced by a body double.
The most recent theory dominating the internet circles around a viral video of Sunday (June 8), where the 78-year-old Republican can be seen falling as he makes his way up the steps to Air Force One.
Trump, at the time, was on his way to Camp David, a remote federal retreat in Maryland, to meet with military leadership on the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act in response to demonstrations triggered by reports of ICE agents making arrests in Latino enclaves around Los Angeles beginning Friday (June 6).
Trump briefly talked to reporters before boarding the plane regarding the dire situation. He missed a step on the staircase to the aircraft and fell.
He was very determined to remain calm and so he regained his composure almost immediately and went on, up the stairs, as though nothing had happened.
The moment soon went viral, particularly since Trump has often criticized his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, for such blunders on the campaign trail.
What truly grasped the attention of the internet, however, was the dredging up of an old theory Trump has bathmophobia, a fear of stairs or slopes.
As one user on X remarked: “Simply refer to Trump history, he always holds the hands of global leaders even at minor slopes. It is likely to be a fall that he has feared being caught on camera for years.”
Another one added: He was more scared of the stairs than the man who shot a gun at his rally. That is something.”
A third wrote: “His seeming fear of stairs is one of the few things about Trump that you can relate to, honestly.”
Another person remarked: “His stumbling does not indicate that he is ill- it only serves to prove that he is an elderly man who is notoriously afraid of steps.”
Though Trump and the White House have not yet commented on these speculations officially, the idea is not new.
In 2017, later into his first term as president, he was seen holding hands with then-UK Prime Minister Theresa May as they descended a ramp at the White House, leading to speculation that he is afraid of slopes.
Reliable sources such as The Telegraph and Politico quoted unnamed sources in the government who proposed that he holds hands due to a fear of ramps.
A spokesman for May later told The Times that Trump had merely offered his hand as he maneuvered an unseen ramp, and she took it.
There’s no solid evidence to back the theory, but it is apparent that the internet has run with the story, as it frequently does, mixing speculation with jokes.
