Donald Trump's golfing buddy scrambled Monday to deny multiple claims that a photograph showing the two over the weekend was an AI-generated fake — and that the president was actually seriously ill.

It comes amid wild speculation that a mysterious announcement scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday was to address rumors that reached fever pitch over the Labor Day weekend concerning Trump's unusual silence. Hashtags like #TRUMPISDEAD trended on social media, with approximately 158,000 posts suggesting the president had already passed away.

An alarming photograph of Trump, notably lacking his trademark orange complexion, had been viewed over 13 million times by Monday night — with thousands suggesting it was a fake.

MAGA radio host John Fredericks shared the photograph, apparently taken at Trump's National Golf Club, and took to X Monday to argue that it was authentic, stating it was taken by his wife with Secret Service permission.

"I talked to him on Sunday, he looked and felt fabulous," Fredericks said on X. "He had just played 18 holes of golf—he did that for three straight days. The number of lies on social media is stunning."

He added, “The Trump deniers are basically saying this is a fake photo and they ran it through AI. The number of people who went on X and disputed a photo my wife took... was unbelievable... We took [the photo] at President Trump’s direction not ours.

“The number of people that engaged in this and thought this photo was fake and somehow believed that President Trump is dead or he’s sick or he’s in the hospital or he’s not there or these are AI photos is incredible.”

Trump's recent public appearances have done little to quell health concerns. Photographs show a weary-looking president, with ongoing bruising on his hands and strategic attempts to hide swollen ankles in White House photographs. His recent public missteps, including forgetting the name of the Pacific Ocean and failing to recognize the president of Finland, have further fueled speculation about his mental acuity.

The president attempted to dispel rumors through his Truth Social account, posting a flurry of content ranging from AI-generated images to observations about the White House Rose Garden. On Sunday, he directly addressed health concerns, declaring he had "NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE".