Donald Trump, the US President, made an announcement on Tuesday about US Space Command HQ’s move to “Rocket City” in Huntsville, Alabama – but it became overshadowed about his hands and health
Donald Trump’s announcement about US Space Command HQ became overshadowed by concerns about his health on Tuesday.
The US President’s hands appeared bruised, with members of the public noting large, grey patches visible, as he delivered his address at the podium. The press conference, delayed by at least 45 minutes, saw Mr Trump, 79, tell reporters US Space Command HQ will be moving from Colorado to ‘Rocket City’ in Huntsville, Alabama.
In full in relation to the relocation, Mr Trump said: “The U.S. Space Command HQ will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama, forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City. The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system.”
The US Space Force’s move will create 30,000 jobs and billions of dollars worth of investment in the city, Mr Trump added. The US President described the decision an “important announcement seven years in the making”.
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But reaction on social media largely concerned Mr Trump’s appearance and health – even though he previously wrote in a post on Truth Social: “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.”
Following the press conference at the Oval Office, one eagle-eyed social media user took to X sharing a screenshot from the announcement, and said: “Trump’s hands are visibly 2 different colors today.”
Yet, Mr Trump claimed he had heard nothing about a viral “TRUMPISDEAD” trend that circulated on social media, adding that it was “sort of crazy”. He also responded to a question from a member of the press, who asked how he “found out you were dead”.
In full, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the politician: “How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead? Did you see that?” Mr Trump responded flatly: “No.”
Calling the speculation “fake news” and insisting he “was very active over the weekend,” Mr Trump said: “I knew they were saying, like: ‘Is he OK? How is he feeling? What’s wrong?'”
And then, turning the press conference to the US Space Command HQ’s relocation, the world leader described the benefits of the switch. He said 30,000 jobs will be created by moving the base to Huntsville, which is the most populous city Alabama.
The decision to move Space Force to Alabama – a move Mr Trump has had in mind since his last presidency – was also teased by local officials last week.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey wrote in a social media post that Space Command could come to the state’s largest city, Huntsville. She wrote: “Space Command coming to Huntsville? Count on it. Huntsville was already chosen once before as the home for U.S. Space Command — and for good reason. I remain confident that Alabama is the right place for this mission to take root and thrive.”