Topline
President Donald Trump was spotted with bruising on the back of his right hand again Monday in the Oval Office, days after covering the persistent marking with makeup and being spotted over the weekend with bruising on his left hand—fueling months-long concerns the 79-year-old president is suffering from a health condition.
The bruising that covered the majority of the back of Trump’s right hand was visible during an Oval Office executive-order signing Monday morning and later in the day during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Over the weekend, Trump was photographed with a smaller bruise on his left hand, days after he was seen Friday with a thick layer of makeup on the back of his right hand while visiting the People’s House museum in Washington.
Trump has been spotted with bruising on his right hand on several occasions since at least August of last year, according to NBC News, including in November and February during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House.
The White House initially blamed the bruising on hand shaking, echoing Trump, who gave Time the same reason for the apparent injury during an interview in December, telling the magazine “it’s from shaking hands with thousands of people.”
Elaborating on the bruising in July, the White House released a letter from the president’s physician, Sean Barbabella that said the bruising “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.”
The letter revealed Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, what Barbabella said is a “benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” but testing showed “there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or arterial disease.”
Trump has also been photographed with swollen ankles during his second term, and Barbabella said in his letter “Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs” and “out of an abundance of caution, this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the White House Medical Unit.”
The condition is a “prevalent” disease that affects approximately 150,000 new patients per year, according to the National Institutes of Health. “In most cases, the underlying cause is incompetent venous valves,” according to the NIH. If left untreated, the condition can lead to “diminished quality of life and loss of work productivity” and more serious ailments, including venous ulcers.
In January last year, Trump was photographed with a patchwork of red markings on his right hand that resembled blisters while exiting his Manhattan apartment, before they disappeared hours later when he was seen at a New Hampshire campaign rally. The blemishes were compared to syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause chancres or ulcers, though there was no evidence Trump had the condition, while some doctors suggested it was a rash that could have been caused by a variety of factors, such as his golf club grip or dry hands.
Trump became the oldest president ever inaugurated in January, when he was sworn in at 78 years old, about five months older than President Joe Biden when he took office. While Biden’s cognitive decline ultimately led to his exit from the 2024 presidential campaign and largely overshadowed Trump’s, the president’s rambling speeches during his most recent campaign and frequent habit of mixing up names of cities, countries and world leaders has also raised speculation about his mental fitness and whether the flubs are signs of dementia. Barbabella conducted Trump’s annual physical in April, which claimed he is “in excellent cognitive and physical health.” Trump has long bragged about his cognitive ability, repeatedly offering to take a cognitive exam alongside Biden during the 2024 campaign, and has claimed his rambling is a purposeful speaking style.
Trump’s Unwieldy Speeches Raise Questions About His Mental Acuity (Forbes)
Trump’s Red Hand Markings Draw Wild Speculation—Including Syphilis Conspiracies (Forbes)