President Donald Trump’s grotesquely discolored hand has come back to haunt him during a White House photo op.
The 79-year-old president on Tuesday welcomed Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin to the Oval Office for an appearance to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day.
The event was ostensibly designed to honor “the towering life and legacy of Saint Patrick” and the strong trans-Atlantic relationship between the U.S. and Ireland, but it quickly devolved into the Trump show.
Martin was forced to endure a classic Trump rant that touched on many topics, including, but not limited to, windmills, Iran, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the president’s nemesis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The two leaders also posed for official photographs that were circulated by the White House after the event. In the unflatteringly high-definition snaps, Trump’s right hand can be seen slathered in a familiar dose of concealer.
However, the mark underneath was still visible, such was the depth of the bruise. In one candid image, Trump chats to his Irish counterpart as the purple markings are visible. In another, he speaks with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson with the mark on full display.
In one posed photograph, Trump and Martin beam as they stand in front of the gold-washed fireplace in the Oval Office, a significant dose of concealer visible on Trump’s strong hand.
The White House has previously suggested that incessant handshaking is the cause of the bruise on Trump’s right hand. It has since appeared on his other hand, however.
“I clipped it on the table,” he told CNN aboard Air Force One in January of the newer mark. “I put a little—what do they call it?—cream on it. But I clipped it."
Trump’s health has been under intense scrutiny since he returned to the White House last year, with stunted walking, swollen ankles and skin conditions on his neck and face adding to speculation about possible health woes. Indeed, his cankles were on display during the meeting with Martin.
Trump also revisited a familiar topic that clearly haunts him during his meeting with the Irish leader: windmills.
The topic seems to sporadically arise in Trump’s mind before he forgets it for a few weeks, sometimes months, and then picks it up again.
He was actually asked a question about the British prime minister when he began unloading on the energy-efficient structures on Tuesday. He said he was disappointed by Starmer’s refusal to back his war in Iran, before launching into the totally unrelated topic.
“Windmills all over the country, destroying those gorgeous Scottish fields,” he said, as Martin appeared to be trying to contain laughter.
His unprompted diatribe continued until it teetered off, and something else caught his attention.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
