Donald Trump Says He’ll Be with Allies for ‘Rest of My Life’ at Rose Garden Patio Event

President Donald Trump has pledged to “be with” his most loyal allies for the remainder of his days.

On Friday, Sept. 5, Trump, 79, welcomed some of his closest allies, including Vice President JD Vance and several lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, for dinner in the newly redone White House Rose Garden. While addressing the group, the president swore his loyalty “for the rest” of his life — a comment that follows rampant speculation concerning his health, which peaked with death rumors over Labor Day weekend.

“You’ve been unbelievable. I’ll be with you for the rest of my life,” the president said while thanking the top allies as they stood on the patio space, the fruit of his summer renovations that covered the historic, Kennedy-era lawn.

“I will be with you, and you’re going to be with me and with leadership,” Trump continued, before turning his attention to the patio, which he called “this little beautiful grouping of some of the finest stone in the world.” The patio, Trump continued, “is, I think, going to go down as a very important place over the period of time for news conferences, for celebrations, for dinners, and we’re going to bring people together here.” 

As for the reason behind the exclusive dinner party, the president said: “I’ll tell you very simply why you’re here. Because you are the ones that I never had to call at 4 o’clock in the morning. You are the ones that have been my friends.”

Elsewhere in the speech, Trump made reference to his health and the death rumors. The topic arose as he addressed Ronny Jackson, a presidential physician turned pro-Trump congressman in the dinner crowd. Trump boasted that Jackson allegedly declared him “the healthiest” when compared to former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush — even though Jackson was not physician to the president during the latter politician’s presidency.

“You’re a special group of people, and you’re the first people that I’ve had at the White House at the Rose Garden, and it’s an honor to have you,” Trump told the crowd.

He then turned his attention to the viral death rumors shortly after, stating, “We’ll say goodbye to the press, but it’s an honor to have you. And actually, the press has been very good lately, except for one rumor that they spread.”

Trump continued, “I did about eight press conferences… day after day after day. Then, I missed one because I was in the Oval Office, and I also went out to the club because I had meetings at a club, and they saw that I was, and the rumor started — this horrible rumor — that Trump is no longer with us. I got to the club: ‘Sir, are you okay? Are you okay?’ ”

“The fake news was at it again,” he later added. (Although the theory that he had died arose organically from social media users, Trump previously blamed the conspiracy theory on “fake news” in a Sept. 2 press conference, along with the media for spreading it — even though it was never treated as fact by major news outlets.)

Trump not only addressed the rumors swirling about his death and health in the speech to his top allies, but also the controversial changes to the historic rose garden. While kicking off his speech, he said, “We have worked very hard to bring it to fruition and not an easy situation, but it’s something that I think we’re all going to enjoy for many, many years to come. It’s a tremendous place.”

The president also claimed that during the summer renovations, “we never touched” the actual roses. The grass, meanwhile, was “not usable,” he said: “Every time we’d have a press conference, women in particular were sinking deep into the mud and at some point I said, ‘You know, it’s time to make the change.’ ”

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The latest renovations to the White House Rose Garden began in early June. At the time, a White House official described the new construction as a “restoration” and told PEOPLE that the president, as well as first lady Melania Trump, “have deep respect for the history of the White House and for the Rose Garden.”

“This restoration to the Rose Garden preserves the beauty of the space and builds on the work done in 2020,” the official said, referring to Melania’s previous, polarizing redesign of the historic space, “with a focus on enhancing practical use and guest experience for those attending special events.”