President Donald Trump joked about college athletes “ripping” his hands up, a nod to his consistent hand-bruising, as he welcomed the Louisiana State University and LSU-Shreveport national champion baseball teams to the White House.
“These guys have very strong hands, I’m noticing,” Trump quipped at an event recognizing the teams for their recent historic championship wins Monday afternoon.
“They’re ripping me. They’re ripping my hand up. These are strong people,” Trump, 79, said after shaking hands with LSU players Josh Pearson and Steven Milam.
It appeared to be a nod to the bruising that the president often has on his right hand, which the White House attributes to the president’s frequent hand-shaking combined with the use of aspirin. The president’s doctors have said it’s a “well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”
After briefly joking about the athletes’ “strong, beautiful hands,” Trump turned his attention back to the teams to acknowledge highlights of the season.
Post-event, Pearson took to X to call the handshake with Trump “one of the coolest moments” of his life.
Although Trump’s medical team has confirmed the cause of his hand bruising, the president is still subject to rumors about the state of his health.
At 79 years old, Trump is the second-oldest person to ever hold the office of president, behind former President Joe Biden. The public and media have often questioned the mental and physical acuity of Trump, especially because there is a history of misrepresented health reports.
In 2015, Trump’s former White House doctor released a statement claiming he was the “healthiest person ever elected to the presidency.” But that same doctor later told reporters that Trump “dictated that whole letter.”
When Trump contracted Covid-19 for the first time in 2020, the administration appeared to downplay the severity of his illness. 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.
So far this year, the White House has released some details of the president’s “routine” health exams, with Dr. Sean Barbabella, Trump's physician, reporting the president in “excellent overall health.”
Most recently, Barbabella said Trump’s cardiac age was “found to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.”
Earlier this year, the White House revealed the president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which causes swelling in the lower extremities because the veins are ineffectively pumping blood to the heart. Trump has often been seen with swollen ankles.
While Trump and the White House have brushed aside speculation, the president still uses makeup to cover up the bruising. On Tuesday, Trump could be seen sporting some makeup on his hand, presumably where the LSU and LSU-Shreveport baseball players shook his hand too hard.
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