President Donald Trump appeared to slather on an extra layer of makeup Tuesday to conceal a mysterious new rash that appeared on his neck earlier this week.
Trump, 79, was noticeably more orange in the face when he spoke from the Oval Office on Tuesday, with his right-side rash—clearly visible in photographs the day prior—now nowhere to be found.
Trump’s new condition grabbed headlines across the country on Monday. That included coverage in outlets like The New York Times, which typically does not document the president’s health struggles, including his hand bruises and severely swollen ankles, with the same regularity as the Daily Beast.
Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, explained in a statement that Trump was prescribed a medical cream as “preventative” treatment for a skin condition that was visible on his neck.
However, Barbabella refused to say exactly what was ailing the president, what the cream is attempting to prevent, or what medication he is taking.
It is unlikely that the rash has already subsided. In his statement, Barbabella predicted that the redness would remain for weeks.
“President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment, prescribed by the White House doctor,” read the statement. “The president is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.”
When reached for comment about Trump’s makeup use, the White House ignored the question. Instead, it shared a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that criticized those who speculate about the president’s health without having examined him personally.
“Any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” she said. “These are false and slanderous allegations from ‘doctors’ who are unethically speculating on health matters they have no insight into.”
Dr. Vin Gupta, a medical analyst for MS NOW and former chief medical officer at Amazon, has theorized that Trump’s rash could in fact be “pre-cancerous.” He slammed the White House for not divulging more about what may be causing the rash—and alleged it is not the first time a critical detail about Trump’s health was withheld.
“The White House medical team didn’t know [Trump] got a CT scan. They claimed it was an MRI for weeks,” Gupta wrote on X, referencing an “MRI” that Trump let slip he had in October—an examination the White House originally kept under wraps.
Trump later admitted to The Wall Street Journal that it was a CT scan, saying, “It wasn’t an MRI. It was less than that. It was a scan.”
Gupta pleaded with the White House to be transparent about Trump’s latest ailment.
“Now instead of acknowledging he might have a pre-cancerous skin condition, they dance around the issue,” Gupta said. “Trying to fool the public just makes it worse.”
Trump, the oldest president to be sworn into office, has used makeup liberally in his second term to conceal gnarly bruising on both of his hands.
The White House has previously attributed Trump’s bruising to vigorous handshaking combined with a daily aspirin regimen used for “cardiac prevention.” Still, Trump, who turns 80 in June, has faced increasing speculation surrounding his physical and cognitive health—much like the scrutiny that haunted his predecessor, Joe Biden, after he became an octogenarian on Nov. 20, 2022.
