Donald Trump on Monday talked up the federal government’s prescription drug website while his often-bruised right hand was again covered in makeup.
Trump, 79, held a press conference with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and others who contributed to the effort, like businessman Mark Cuban. After promoting the website as potentially being “the biggest thing to happen to healthcare and everything having to do with medical in any way, shape or form,” he looked on as Kennedy, Oz, Cuban and others spoke at the podium, his altered hand visible.
The makeup blending appeared to be better than when the president posed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week.
And, unlike last week’s Oval Office event on maternal healthcare, during which he appeared to doze off, Trump seemed alert.
The bruising on the top of Trump’s right hand, the White House has said, is due to two factors: frequent handshaking and the president’s use of aspirin. Trump has been taking a higher-than-recommended dosage—325 milligrams daily—for the last 25 years to keep his blood thin, despite the fact that his doctors suggest a lower level.
“I’m a little superstitious,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal in January. “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
The makeup he uses to compensate “takes about 10 seconds” to apply, Trump said.
The president, who turns 80 in less than a month, also has chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in older people that makes it more difficult for blood to return to the heart from the lower extremities. Swelling in the lower legs is one symptom.
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson David Ingle provided a recycled statement: “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. The President is a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history. President Trump’s commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
During his Monday press conference, Trump again did some nonsensical math about the drug prices on the TrumpRx website, claiming, “We’ve slashed the price of dozens of commonly used prescription drugs by differences of 400, 500, and even 600 percent.”
