Shamans predict Trump will fall 'seriously ill' in 2026

Responding to the shamans’ prediction, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, 'President Trump remains in excellent overall health'
PUBLISHED DEC 31, 2025
As part of their December tradition, Peruvian shamans gathered to forecast the futures of world leaders, including Donald Trump (Getty Images)
As part of their December tradition, Peruvian shamans gathered to forecast the futures of world leaders, including Donald Trump (Getty Images)

LIMU, PERU: Peruvian shamans have issued a striking health prediction for President Donald Trump in 2026.

Every December, these shamans gather to forecast the futures of world leaders, and this year, they are warning Americans to prepare for potential health issues affecting the president. 

What did the Peruvian shamans say about Trump?

Juan de Dios Garcia in Lima, Peru, declared, “The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” as shamans gathered on a beach wearing colorful traditional Andean ponchos and holding posters of world leaders, including one of the 79-year-old president.

The shamans gave mixed predictions about another possible success for Trump in 2026, ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, which could move him closer to a Nobel Peace Prize.

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leave a news conference following their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leave a news conference following their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida (Getty Images) 

As Trump negotiates a potential peace deal between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, 47, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, 73, one shaman predicted the two countries would reach an agreement and “raise the flag of peace,” while another said the war would continue.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss regional security in the Middle East as well as the US-Israel partnership (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club on December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Earlier, the shamans predicted the conflict would end in 2023, but that forecast proved wrong.

The December ritual has produced both hits and misses. In 2024, the shamans predicted Israel and Gaza would engage in a nuclear war, but instead, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.

In contrast, the shamans correctly predicted in 2023 that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori would die within a year. Fujimori, who had served time for human rights abuses, died at age 86 the following September.

Karoline Leavitt responds to shamans’ prediction about Trump’s health in 2026

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt does a television interview at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt does a television interview at the White House, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Responding to the shamans’ prediction about Trump’s health, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump remains in excellent overall health,” as per the Daily Beast

She also took a jab at former President Joe Biden, adding that Trump’s “relentless work ethic, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in sharp contrast” to the four years under the 83-year-old former president.

Despite the health prediction, the shamans also offered some positive forecasts for Trump and a setback for a president he has criticized for months.

Shaman Ana Maria Simeon said, “We have asked for Maduro to leave, to retire, for President Donald Trump of the United States to be able to remove him, and we have visualised that next year this will happen.”

Tensions between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, 63, have risen after Trump labeled Maduro’s regime a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and called for a “Total and complete blockade” of the country in a Truth Social post, a move Maduro’s government denounced as a “grotesque threat.”

Shamans’ prediction about Trump comes amid his health concerns

Shamans' prediction about Trump comes amid ongoing concerns about his health. Questions first arose early in Trump’s second term, when he greeted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in February. A photo showing his bruised right hand sparked speculation about his health.

Makeup covers a bruise on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump's hand as he hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for meetings at the White House on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. Macron is meeting with Trump in Washington on the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Makeup covers a bruise on the back of US President Donald Trump's hand as he hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for meetings at the White House on February 24, 2025, in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

White House press secretary Leavitt explained that the bruises resulted from Trump’s frequent handshakes. However, the explanation did not hold when cameras captured Trump’s swollen ankles at the FIFA Club World Final in July.  

Leavitt later confirmed that Trump suffers from chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a circulatory condition common in older adults that can cause leg swelling. 

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump reacts following the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Final match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium on July 13, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Photos of Trump’s bruised hands and swollen ankles continued to circulate, fueling rumors about his health and even his potential death, especially when he appeared to skip public events over the Labor Day weekend.

Addressing the social media speculation during a White House dinner, Trump said, “Although I’m still here. We had a couple of bad predictions, so that was not good. I’ve never had that feeling before.”

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