It’s time again for speculation about U.S. President Donald Trump’s hands. Their bruising and discoloration, covered up by makeup, has been a topic of conversation since at least spring 2024.
Last September, photographs of Trump shaking hands with officials in the U.K. set off rumors and around Labor Day last year rumors reached the point where people were speculating that the president was dead. This week, photos from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Turkey set speculation about his hands off again.
The Independent noted in a Tuesday report that Trump – who just turned 80 last month – was photographed next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It said his right hand “looked noticeably darker than the surrounding skin, its tone suggesting it may have been slathered in concealer.”
When Audacy reported on Trump’s hand bruises and his chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis last year, we noted that presidential physician Sean P. Barbabella attributed the bruises to the president’s use of aspirin as a preventative measure for cardiovascular issues and frequent handshaking. However, recent polls have shown that Americans are wary of information about the president’s health.
Back in January, a YouGov poll found that 48% of Americans thought Trump had not provided enough information about his physical health, compared to 31% think he had. Then, poll results from The Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos released this May also indicated that an estimated 55% of Americans didn’t think Trump was healthy enough to hold his position, and around that time, Trump also had an unexpected dentist appointment.
By last month, Quinnipiac University polling found that 59% of poll respondents thought the White House was not being transparent about Trump’s health. Half said they think Trump is not physically healthy.
The Independent said this week that “similar bruising, often paired with visible cosmetic coverage, has been documented in recent months, including during Trump’s UFC event at the White House in June and after a meeting with coal miners in February.” Furthermore, it said some photos appear to show markings on the president’s left hand and that the White House repeatedly brushed off concerns.
“President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in a statement provided to The Independent. “The President 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.”
Last year, Trump himself bashed news outlets for reports about his health.
“The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am ‘slowing up,’ am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before,” he said in a Truth Social post.
Besides worries about Trump’s hands, there have also been concerns raised about his mental fitness and his sleep schedule. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has questioned whether the president has dementia, and CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner said this May that Trump appears to have “daytime somnolence.”
“At the time, a White House spokesperson told The Independent: ‘So-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,’” said the outlet of a statement regarding Reiner’s comments.
According to the Quinnipiac poll results from last month, 51% of respondents said they thought Trump was not mentally healthy.
“Is the president physically and mentally well? On both questions, half of voters have their concerns, and a majority think the White House is keeping them in the dark,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy summarized.
