SAEDNEWS: A federal appeals court has ruled that most of President Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs exceeded his legal authority, even as social media was flooded with unverified rumours about his health after a weekend without public events and visible bruising on his hand.
According to Saed News, a U.S. federal appeals court concluded this week that much of President Trump’s 2025 “reciprocal” tariff programme exceeded the limits of executive authority — a legal rebuke that was nonetheless paired with an unusual social-media storm of rumours about the president’s health.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the legal basis used to justify the sweeping duties did not fit within the emergency powers invoked by the administration, producing a split decision that nevertheless directed the tariffs to remain temporarily in force while further appeals are pursued. The court’s order preserves the duties until a specified date in mid-October to give the government time to seek review at the Supreme Court.
Almost immediately after the ruling and amid a weekend with no public White House appearances listed, posts on X proliferated, with hashtags and user threads questioning whether the president had become seriously ill or died. While these posts numbered in the tens of thousands, there has been no credible confirmation from official sources that the president has died or been hospitalised. Journalists and fact-checkers cautioned readers that silence in a public schedule is not proof of a medical emergency.
Public attention has also focused on a recurring bruise seen on the back of the president’s right hand. The White House previously disclosed a diagnosis of Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) for the president — a circulatory condition commonly affecting older adults — and officials have suggested routine causes such as frequent handshakes and use of aspirin, which can increase bruising. Independent medical commentators have noted that isolated bruising can have many benign causes, while also saying that visible, unexplained marks sometimes prompt reasonable questions about transparency and follow-up.
Administration spokespeople have pushed back on the death rumours and called the online chatter politically motivated. The White House and other official channels emphasised that the president’s schedule and public-facing events do not necessarily reflect private meetings or routine work, and that speculation should be grounded in official statements rather than social posts. At the same time, the Justice Department has signalled it will consider an appeal to the Supreme Court to preserve the broader tariff programme.
The court’s decision is a legal setback for an aggressive trade strategy that relied on the executive branch’s emergency powers; if the ruling stands it could narrow future unilateral tariff steps by presidents and prompt challenges from affected trading partners and industries. Keeping the duties temporarily in place, however, means businesses and markets face continued uncertainty for weeks as they await further judicial action. The political fallout — both from the tariff ruling and from the swirl of health rumours — is likely to reverberate into the campaign and media cycles.
