White House Hides Trump’s Cankles With Odd Prop in Zelensky Photo-Op
A White House photo conveniently placed an Air Force One model in front of the 79-year-old president’s swollen ankles.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Anna Moneymaker/Getty
The White House appeared to cover up Donald Trump’s cankles in an official photo from his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Monday.
The 79-year-old president’s swollen ankles were hard to miss as his slacks crept up his shin while sitting down with Zelensky, 47, for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
But in a photo from the meeting posted by the White House’s X account, the angle conveniently placed Trump’s cherished Air Force One model in front of his enlarged lower limbs.
President Donald J. Trump and President @ZelenskyyUa in the Oval Office. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/WTrSnKFzFM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 18, 2025
Trump has displayed the plane model on the Oval Office’s coffee table since his first term.
Meanwhile, the ankles of other attendees, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were on full display and appeared unremarkable.
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The White House has offered little more on the president’s condition since disclosing in July that he was diagnosed with “chronic venous insufficiency,” a circulation issue typical in people over the age of 70.
President Donald Trump's cankles were also on visible at Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“Look, you see the president every day,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last week. “He’s moving, he’s working, he’s continuing, there have been no adjustments made to his lifestyle.” She promised to “look into” making a White House physician available to answer questions about Trump’s health.
But the White House did not address the Daily Beast’s questions about that proposal, or the curiously angled photo from Zelensky’s visit, when reached for comment on Monday.
Spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement, “President Trump’s unmatched stamina is evident by his ability to work around the clock to negotiate world peace.”
The White House has put the bruise on President Donald Trump's hand down to “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” while taking aspirin as “part of a standard cardio-vascular prevention regimen.”
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images
Trump—who is also often seen with a bruise on his right hand—is the oldest president ever to be inaugurated. His physical and cognitive health have been questioned amid his diagnosis and frequent gaffes.
During Monday’s meeting with Zelensky, he referred to the Republic of the Congo as the “Republic of the Condo.”
He suffered similar lapses in the lead up to his Alaskan summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, twice erroneously declaring he was “going to Russia,” and mistakenly referring to “Leningrad,” the Cold War-era name for the city now known as St. Petersburg.
This time, Trump’s meeting with Zelensky did not spiral into the contentious back-and-forth that marked the Ukrainian president’s previous visit to the White House, when Trump and Vance took a combative approach toward their ally.
Zelensky—accompanied by a group of European leaders—swapped his typical military-style clothing for a dark suit and had a smoother rapport with Trump.
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