A rumor that users circulated online in March 2025 claimed anonymous White House staffers said U.S. President Donald Trump's "terrible body odor" obstructs his agenda.
Facebook and X users — and some Snopes readers — either posted or asked about an article promoting this rumor. For example, on March 18, a Facebook page manager posted that Trump "can't control his bowels" and dubbed him "Diaper Don." The post featured a link to an article (archived), reading, "Trump Staffers Say His Terrible Body Odor Is Obstructing His Agenda."
A reader emailed to ask about the same article, "Does Donald Trump smell bad? Are any of these claims true?"
However, the rumor — and article — positing that White House staffers complained about Trump's "body odor," and further claiming that Trump himself said his "odor" has "presidential immunity," originated from blogs whose sole author described their output as satirical in nature.
Comedian, political satirist and poet Dash MacIntyre published the article on his Medium.com blog (archived) and his publication The Halfway Post (archived) on Feb. 4, 2025. The Medium.com blog featured an in-jest "About" page calling The Halfway Post "America's number one source of halfway real satirical news." The Halfway Post also referenced its content as "halfway true comedy and satire," including on its associated Instagram, Threads and X accounts. MacIntyre has not yet responded to a request for further comment about the article.
'Presidential immunity' and Secret Service code name
MacIntyre's article (archived) about Trump's "body odor" began:
Let's remember that it's widely agreed Trump smells like a dying old man whose Big Mac sauce drowned organs are rotting from the inside out.
Wannabe dictators constantly obsess over their media image because their strongmen personas depend on never admitting to any personal flaw or mistake, so let's help ol' Uncle Sam and the Constitution out a bit by reminding America every chance we get that Trump smells like s***.
What an amusing and patriotic way to fight back against Trump's pugilistic egomania of sociopathic narcissism as he tries to dismantle our democracy and make himself a totalitarian!
The satirical story also said Trump "claimed his body odor 'is protected by presidential immunity," and that "A Secret Service agent just confirmed that Trump's code name is 'Roast Beef' because agents have to spend so much time in close proximity to his body's 'foul deli odor.'"
A search of The Halfway Post's X account showed MacIntyre had published satirical content about Trump's purported "body odor" issues since at least 2023. For example, on Dec. 27, 2023, a post (archived) read, "BREAKING: Donald Trump just claimed his body odor 'is protected by executive privilege, client-attorney privilege and presidential immunity.'"
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about U.S. presidential bodily difficulties in the past, including the assertion that a photo showed Trump with a diarrhea stain on his golf pants, and a rumor that another picture showed him wearing a diaper. Other rumors included one claiming former President Joe Biden pooped his pants while trying to sit in a nonexistent chair, as well as a story saying former President William Howard Taft, weighing over 300 pounds, needed assistance from White House staffers after becoming stuck in a bathtub.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.