If there’s been one constant in President Donald Trump’s second term in office, it’s the widespread speculation and ongoing rumors about his health.
Questions resurfaced after the 80-year-old Trump appeared at two White House events Monday.
Eagle-eyed reporters zoomed in on his swollen right hand, with heavy makeup covering the persistent hand bruises that have also marked his second term.
A viral photo of Trump’s puffy hand taken by Kylie Cooper with Reuters also shows the president sporting a bluish-black thumbnail.
He’s been covering up those ugly purple lesions on his hands for several years. The White House has blamed it on Trump’s daily aspirin use and too much handshaking.
Social media erupted in a frenzy of renewed speculation about Trump’s health and fitness for office.
“Holy sh-t. If I knew someone with a hand like that, I’d wonder first if they have their affairs in order. His heart is doing the work stoppage we are all not doing, I guess,” this commenter remarked.
“His thumbnail is purple. I hope it hurt like hell when that happened,” a Threads user proclaimed, seeming to assume Trump must have somehow smashed his finger.
“Ugh…bruised lil sausage fingers. Gross,” another stated.
Another joked, “Christ. His hand looks like that contaminated lunch meat.”
Last summer, the White House admitted he suffers from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency, which affects many older Americans. It impacts blood flow to the lower limbs.
It causes swollen ankles, which have also plagued Trump during his second term.
The illness occurs when leg vein valves are damaged or weakened. It causes blood to flow backward and pool in the lower legs instead of moving up to the heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That in turn causes swelling, tired or achy legs, skin color changes, and sometimes painful open sores.
Earlier this month, at a golf outing, reporters spotted bruises on Trump’s arms. He wore a short-sleeved shirt, something he doesn’t do often. It’s the first time his arm blemishes were seen in public, and pictures taken at the time also appear to show scrapes on his arms.
Trump also wore bandages on two fingers on his right hand.
Speculation about the 80-year-old Trump’s health and fitness for office has plagued him almost since the beginning of his second term in office. He’s the oldest person to win the presidency.
Back in January, as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, reporters aboard Air Force One noticed one of his hands was heavily bruised. They asked him if he was OK.
“I’m very good. I clipped it on the table. So, I put a little, what do they call it, cream on it. But I clipped it,” news outlets reported at the time.
In May, he underwent his fourth physical exam in the past 13 months. And last year he had two CT scans over a six-month period.
He has tried repeatedly to downplay the rumors that he’s seriously ill, but it hasn’t helped. He’s also undergone at least four cognitive tests in just over a year and has tried to play them off as IQ tests.
Trump has repeatedly bragged about “acing” these tests, which experts say are used to diagnose dementia and other cognitive disorders.
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has fallen asleep repeatedly in public. He’s also given long, nonsensical, and rambling speeches, slurring his words, and easily losing his train of thought.
