Donald Trump did not leave Mar-a-Lago in an ambulance

On By Littum

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The claim: Trump taken from Mar-a-Lago in an ambulance on November 21

A November 21 post on X, formerly Twitter (direct link, archive link) claims President-elect Donald Trump left his Florida home in an emergency vehicle.

“Trump now in an ambulance out of mar a Lago with vans full of secret service,” reads the text’s post.

Similar claims speculating about ambulances leaving Mar-a-Lago also spread elsewhere on social media.

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Our assessment: False

Neither Trump nor anyone else at Mar-a-Lago, which is protected by the Secret Service, left the property in an ambulance or experienced any problems, a Secret Service spokesman said. The ambulances were there as part of Vice President-elect JD Vance’s motorcade, according to media reports.

“No problems or worries” for those under Secret Service protection

Social media posting posted Nov 21 with reference to broadcasts from pool reporters in the area mentioned ambulances, a helicopter and more than 20 cars seen at Mar-a-Lago.

But the claim in the X post in question is false. Trump was not taken from his home in an ambulancespokesman for the Secret Service Anthony Guglielmi said in an X post.

Fact check: Rejects false, misleading claims about President-elect Trump

“We are not tracking any Secret Service-directed medical transport from Mar-a-Lago, and from our personnel on the ground there are no issues or concerns with any Secret Service proteges on property,” Guglielmi said in the post.

With his 78 years, Trump is the oldest person elected as chairmanand when he is inaugurated on January 20, 2025, he will also become the oldest person to take office. He will be five months older than current President Joe Biden was at the start of his term in 2021.

But the ambulances at Mar-a-Lago on November 21 had nothing to do with Trump. They were there as part of Vance’s motorcade, according to several posts from a reporter for The Independent. It is common practice for ambulances to track presidents and other officials in procession to provide immediate medical care in an emergency.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s White House communications director, was critical of the reports about the ambulances, says in an X post that a journalist “overreacted and set off the fire alarm for no reason.”

USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that a bomb was found near the site of a Trump rally on Long Island and that he posted on social media that his assassination attempts have an “0-2” record.

The social media user who shared the post could not be reached for comment.

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