Septuagenarian president Donald Trump isn't the strong, virile world leader the White House likes to portray him as.
That's just a fact. During a visit by French president Emmanuel Macron at the White House this week, a large, greenish-blue bruise appeared on the back of the 78-year-old's hand, as seen in photographs taken during the visit.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered an eyebrow-raising explanation, telling reporters that Trump is a "man of the people" and "has bruises on his hand because he’s constantly working and shaking hands all day every day," as quoted by NBC.
It's not the first time we've seen similar bruises show up on Trump's hand. The broadcaster pointed out at least two other occasions last year when a similar bruise appeared.
In its Person of the Year writeup about Trump last year, Time magazine quoted him as saying that the bruising on his right hand was from "shaking hands with thousands of people."
But instead of that extremely self-serving explanation, doctors say there's likely a medical cause.
"It’s almost definitely from an IV or blood draw," University of Texas public health PhD and paramedic Claire Zagorski argued on Bluesky. "Which is a weird thing to lie about, people get bloodwork done all the time."
"A man his age getting periodic bloodwork is very normal, and your skin gets thin as you age, making the bruises look obvious and especially big," she wrote in a follow-up.
Others used the opportunity to take potshots.
"The president suffers from weak ass hand syndrome for which there is no cure," one Bluesky user wrote in a mocking post.
"And the scratch on my arm is from the time I protected orphans from a rabid wolf, and definitely not from when my cat had the zoomies last night," Zagorski joked.
While it remains unclear what exactly caused the bruise to appear on Trump's right hand, the explanation that "shaking hands" was to blame isn't just unusual, but would hint at far more serious medical implications than simply getting an IV.
Apart from strange bruises, health experts have also called into question Trump's cognitive abilities. Trump's unusual speech patterns at his debate against Kamala Harris in September, in particular, led to some suggesting he was suffering from a possible cognitive illness.
In December, Trump told NBC that he would release his full medical report. But months later, it has yet to surface.
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