Tim Walz plays into 'dead Trump' hoax: 'There will be news sometime'

Governor of Minnesota and failed vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz joked about the false rumors that President Donald Trump died which spread online at the end of last week. Walz referred to Trump's potential death as "news" in his comments at the Duluth Labor Day picnic.

"Look, I get it. You get up in the morning and you doom scroll through things," Walz said. He paused and then added, "Although I will say this, the last few days you woke up thinking there might be news. Just saying. Just saying."

In reference to the eventual death of the president, Walz added, "There will be news sometime, just so you know. There will be news." The crowd at the picnic appeared to get a laugh out of the comment, playing into the president's demise. Later on, Walz said that the crowd had to stand up for democracy as well as "what's right."

"But the biggest thing we can do is, and our kids demand it, let's stand up for the democracy," he added. "Let's stand up and don't let them take our kindness as weakness. We can be kind and still kick the living sh*t out of them. You can do both those things."

The joke about Trump's death came after many online speculated that the president was dead after not having a public appearance for around 72 hours last week. Right before the public absence, Trump and his Cabinet held a three-hour televised meeting and took questions from press. However, the speculation was put to rest when Trump was seen playing golf on Saturday with his granddaughter Kai Trump.

Phrasing such as "Trump is dead" trended on X, with many left-wing pundits and influencers feeding into the false theory that the president had met his demise.