President Donald Trump went concealer-free on Monday, showing a dark bruise on the back of his right hand while signing executive orders in the Oval Office.
Sitting at the Resolute Desk, Trump appeared to be covering up the back of his right hand by placing his left hand on top of it while speaking with reporters. This past weekend, Trump was seen with a patch of makeup over his hand, seemingly covering a recurring bruise.
But at various points in the press conference on Monday, reporters could see a flash of the extensive bruise across the back of his hand.
It was again visible as Trump hosted his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, in the Oval Office.
The black-and-blue patch is the latest bruising to make an appearance on the 79-year-old president’s hand. Over the last few months, Trump has been seen with a familiar-looking bruise in the same spot, and occasionally covers it with makeup.
The White House and Trump’s doctor have maintained that the president is in “excellent health” and that the hand bruise is the result of frequent handshaking and intake of aspirin.
“This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen,” Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, has said. “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”
But the answer has not satisfied some people online who speculate that Trump may be receiving medical treatment through an IV or that physicians may be conducting frequent medical tests, such as blood draws.
Trump recently revealed he was diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency,” which means he experiences swelling in his lower extremities because the veins in his legs ineffectively pump blood back up toward his heart.
However, that diagnosis appears to be separate from the hand-bruising.
When asked about the patch of makeup covering the bruise this past weekend, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump is a man of the people, and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history. His commitment is unwavering, and he proves that every single day.”
Representative Ronny Jackson, who also served as the physician to the president from 2013 until 2018, has said Trump is “the healthiest president this nation has ever seen.”
Trump’s physical and mental health has been a consistent subject for years, with many people speculating about ailments he may have suffered from or may currently be living with.
But speculation and rumors have also been feuled by a sense of public mistrust around Trump and his health because the president has often refused to share health information publicly or misrepresented his own health.
In 2015, Trump’s previous doctor released a statement claiming he was the “healthiest person ever elected to the presidency.” That same doctor later told reporters that Trump “dictated that whole letter.”
The first Trump administration also appeared to downplay the severity of his illness when Trump contracted Covid-19 for the first time in 2020. It was later revealed that Trump was far sicker than the public knew, and he required hospitalization for low blood oxygen levels, high fever, and lung problems.
Trump has often harshly claimed former president Joe Biden, saying he was unfit for office and was covering up a major health issue from the public.
