Donald Trump’s bruised hand was on full display on the eve of his upcoming medical check-up, fueling ongoing speculation about the aging president’s health.
Photographers captured the makeup-covered hand as Trump marked Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery, where he was also spotted with his eyes closed for an extended time during Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s speech.
Trump’s mental and physical health has come under growing scrutiny in recent weeks, but will come under sharp focus again on Tuesday as he heads to Walter Reed Hospital for the fourth known medical checkup of his second term.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Earlier this month, photographers also captured what appeared to be heavy makeup covering bruising and swelling on his right hand during a White House event promoting a new federal prescription drug website alongside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and television doctor Mehmet Oz.
Days later, similar discoloration was visible when Trump addressed graduating cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy, with photos again showing concealer or makeup spread across the back of his hand.
The bruising was also visible on Friday as he gave a bizarre speech in New York, where the president told supporters that he can handle being called a tyrant and a dictator - but can’t handle it when critics called him dumb.
“They hit me with a bad one: He’s a dumb person. D-U-M, not the B,” Trump recalled telling his doctor. “Most people don’t know it has a B.”
“I said, ”Doctor, I don’t mind being called a brilliant total tyrant dictator, but I don’t want to be called dumb’,” the president added, claiming the insult spurred him to take a cognitive test, which he insists he “aced”.
Trump persistently mocked his predecessor Joe Biden’s mental and physical health, but with the president becoming increasingly erratic in recent weeks amid growing tensions over the war in Iran, he now faces many questions about his own fitness for office and capacity to serve.
“Anybody who has eyes, ears, and a brain... and hasn’t drunk the Kool-Aid or been bitten by a MAGA zombie, can see for themselves that this person is transparently mentally ill and cognitively deteriorating,” Dr. John Gartner, a former Johns Hopkins University professor, told The Daily Beast Podcast last week.
The White House, however, insists the president is in top shape, and regularly attributes his bruising to constantly having to shake hands and the president’s use of aspirin. Trump has been taking a higher-than-recommended dosage—325 milligrams daily—for the last 25 years.
Tuesday’s hospital visit on Tuesday will nonetheless mark the fourth known examination of his second term. His first took place shortly after he returned to office last year, with White House physician Sean Barbabella reporting he was in “excellent cognitive and physical health.”
Trump also had a medical evaluation last July due to swelling in his lower legs and ankles, as well as the bruising on his hands. He was subsequently diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which takes place when the veins in the leg struggle to send blood back to the heart.
And his last known medical examination took place in October when he underwent advanced medical imaging, although there was initial confusion over the exact test used.
This was because Trump first told reporters that he had a “perfect” MRI during a physical, only to have his doctor later clarify that the imaging was actually a CT scan ordered to definitively rule out cardiovascular issues.
The confusion and lack of transparency has prompted renewed speculation in recent months about whether the White House is giving Americans the full story about the president’s health.
However, Trump and his supporters insist he remains sharp and active.
“President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast last week.
