Donald Trump’s team chose to post a birthday message for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a photo showing off the president’s bruised hand heavily caked in makeup.
The Team Trump X account shared a gushing tribute to the “amazing” Leavitt, whom Trump once praised for having lips that “move like she’s a machine gun.”
The photo, celebrating her 28th birthday Sunday, shows Trump walking alongside Leavitt, his right hand smeared with thick makeup to conceal a large bruise.
Concerns have been mounting over the 79-year-old president’s health, as he has repeatedly been spotted trying to disguise bruises with poorly matched makeup.
Trump even took the additional step of using his left hand to cover his right hand while speaking to the press in the Oval Office on Friday, to shield the concerning patch of makeup.
Trump, who is on course to become the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, was also spotted with a bruise on his left hand as he played golf with former Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens and his son Kacy at the president’s course in Virginia on Saturday.
The bruise on his left hand appeared smaller than the one that took up almost the entirety of the top of his right hand, and the president did not seem to have tried to cover the new mark with concealer.
Leavitt said Trump keeps getting bruises on his hands as he “meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other president in history.”
“His commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day,” Leavitt told the Daily Beast.
She also suggested Trump’s frequent taking of aspirin, which thins the blood, to treat his chronic venous insufficiency, could be to blame for the bruises.
The condition, common in men over 70, means weakened vein valves prevent blood from circulating properly in the legs, resulting in the type of swollen ankles that Trump has also been desperately trying to hide in public.
This includes taking the unusual step of sitting behind the Resolute Desk while meeting with European leaders in the Oval Office on Aug. 18, rather than the usual spot in front of the fireplace.
The White House also released a photo of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the same day, with a model of Air Force One conveniently blocking the president’s cankles.
