White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has predicted how President Donald Trump will be sporting a new skin condition during a press conference on Wednesday
A reporter pressed the White House for more details about the rash on Trump’s neck, noting that the White House physician said it was caused by a preventative skin cream but didn’t explain what condition it was meant to prevent.
Leavitt declined to provide additional information, repeating that she had nothing beyond his doctor’s statement.
“I don’t have anything additional to add to the physician’s statement, but the physician said the redness will dissipate over the next couple of weeks,” Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.
On Monday, March 2, during an appearance at a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, viewers homed in on Trump’s neck below his right ear, where an irritated and inflamed patch of skin prompted renewed chatter about the 79-year-old president’s health yet again.
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Trump’s doctor told news outlets that the nasty-looking rash was due to a “preventative skin treatment,” without revealing what the treatment was.
“President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment,” Dr. Sean Barbabella said in a statement, according to CNN. “The President is using the treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.”
MAGA partisans raced to condemn the media for covering the story and even suggested possible causes for the condition.
Trump acolyte and far-right political activist Laura Loomer, in an eye-popping comment, seemed to blame news outlets for the rash.
“President Trump is kidnapping dictators and killing Islamic terrorists and the media wants to spread a conspiracy about his health. As if we all haven’t had some redness on our skin at some point in time,” Loomer posted on X above a CBS News post showing a graphic photo of Trump with the ugly, scaly skin patch.
Another supporter blamed Trump’s laundry services.
“I am genuinely concerned that someone is putting a chemical onto his dry cleaning.”
She later added another comment on dry cleaning. “Someone needs to change his dry cleaner. The edges of his clothes are obviously harming his skin, too, as he’s aging. New clothes, and new detergent and get a new dry cleaner. This looks like too many chemicals on his clothes,” she repeated.
By Tuesday, though, Trump had covered the inflamed neck rash with makeup, apparently not realizing it would draw attention to his right ear.
Wild speculation erupted on social media about the lack of a scar where a bullet supposedly grazed him during a failed assassination attempt at a campaign rally in July of 2024. Trump walked around for days after the shooting with a large piece of cotton taped over his ear.
“That’s a great picture of an ear that has never been shot,” a Threads user responded to a post showing a picture of Trump with the rash covered up.
“His perfect, unscarred ear…” Threads poster My Way commented.
The president has tried to tamp down rumors about his poor health almost since the start of his second term last year. He’s had persistent bruising on his hands, swollen ankles, an MRI last fall, and repeated cognitive tests.
Trump turns 80 this summer and became the oldest person to hold the office of the presidency when he was 78.
Leavitt’s reiteration of the physician’s timeline for the rash has only fueled more speculation about its cause. Critics online say they believe they’ve already cracked the mystery, floating theories ranging from shingles to chemotherapy treatments to even skin cancer.
“If it’s a preventative skin cream it could be for precancerous growths or skin cancer. Actually, for once, her explanation makes some sense,” one Threads user wrote.
“Couple of weeks”?? wtf does he have???” another person asked.
