Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photographs
Donald Trump has a large bruise on his hand. Folks noticed it when Trump met with French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and it was nonetheless seen throughout when he hosted British prime minister Keir Starmer within the Oval Workplace on Thursday.
Might this be an indication that Trump is affected by some critical, life-threatening sickness? Certain. Search “Trump hand bruise” on X and also you’ll discover that armchair physicians have supplied a variety of diagnoses, from “Trump is getting common IV infusions” to “the president injured himself in a dementia-related fall.” And do you know that “the queen had an analogous bruise per week earlier than she died?” Suspicious!
Or, not suspicious in any respect. Trump beloved to bully Joe Biden for his decrepitude and faux that he possessed nearly superhuman well being and psychological acuity, although he’s solely three years youthful. However in actuality, President Trump is 78 years outdated, and typically outdated folks get random bruises. Because the Mayo Clinic explains, “Simple bruising is widespread with age … as folks become older, the pores and skin turns into thinner. It additionally loses a number of the protecting fatty layer that helps cushion blood vessels from harm.”
It could be nice if the Trump administration supplied detailed medical information that would put an finish to all of the hypothesis that he’s affected by some mysterious sickness. However as a substitute, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt simply retains giving the identical doubtful rationalization: It’s a type of hand-shaking accidents you’re all the time listening to about.
“President Trump is a person of the folks, and he meets extra People and shakes their palms every day than another president in historical past,” Leavitt stated in a considerably garbled assertion to Fox Information Digital on Wednesday. She continued, “His dedication is unwavering, and he proves that each single day.”
Leavitt supplied an analogous assertion to NBC Information, including, “President Trump has bruises on his hand as a result of he’s always working and shaking palms all day, each day.”
It seems Leavitt acquired this line from Trump himself. Right here’s what the president-elect stated when he confirmed as much as his Time “Particular person of the Yr” interview with a bruise on his hand three days earlier than Thanksgiving:
Sitting underneath shiny lights for a 30-minute photograph session forward of a 65-minute interview, he’s requested to clarify the bruising on his proper hand. “It’s from shaking palms with 1000’s of individuals,” he says.
There isn’t any proof that Trump labored a rope line simply earlier than his Time interview, or that he “meets extra People” than “another president in historical past.” And it’s not like another world leaders are always black and blue from greeting folks (save for nonagenarian British monarchs). However certain, he does greet lots of people, and he has a fairly aggressive handshake:
So what’s actually occurring with Trump’s large bruise? You’ll must determine for your self. Both it’s proof that he’s probably the most rugged and hardworking man ever to sit down within the Oval Workplace, or it’s affirmation that he’s, as Graydon Carter famously put it, a “short-fingered vulgarian” with “pores and skin of gossamer.”
