ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump was photographed on his way to play golf on Saturday, following false rumors on social media that he had died, triggered by reports that he had not been seen in public in several days.

Trump and his granddaughter, Kai Trump, were seen entering a vehicle on the White House's south lawn while dressed in a white polo, black pants, and his signature red MAGA hat, Newsweek reported.

His motorcade left at 8.45 am ET (1245GMT) for a golf course.

Meanwhile, Daily Caller White House correspondent Reegan Reese also said on the US social media company, X: "I wake up to see people freaking out that Trump's sick or dead or something because he hasn't been seen in a few days.

"I was with the president yesterday afternoon. I interviewed him for an hour," Reese stated.

Trump's appearance comes as false rumors about his death began spreading on social media.

Reports surfaced on Friday that he had not been seen in public in two days. By 9.15 am ET (1315GMT) Saturday, the hashtag #whereistrump was the sixth most trending topic on X in the US.

Grok, X's AI-powered chatbot, reported that posts speculating about Trump's possible death had received over 1.3 million user engagements as of Saturday morning.