White Home Says Trump Hand Bruise Is Proof of His Virility

Picture: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Photos

Donald Trump has an enormous bruise on his hand. Folks noticed it when Trump met with French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and it was nonetheless seen throughout when he hosted British prime minister Keir Starmer within the Oval Workplace on Thursday.

Might this be an indication that Trump is affected by some critical, life-threatening sickness? Positive. Search “Trump hand bruise” on X and also you’ll discover that armchair physicians have offered a variety of diagnoses, from “Trump is getting common IV infusions” to “the president injured himself in a dementia-related fall.” And do you know that “the queen had the same bruise every week earlier than she died?” Suspicious!

Or, not suspicious in any respect. Trump liked to bully Joe Biden for his decrepitude and fake that he possessed nearly superhuman well being and psychological acuity, although he’s solely three years youthful. However in actuality, President Trump is 78 years outdated, and generally outdated folks get random bruises. Because the Mayo Clinic explains, “Straightforward bruising is widespread with age … as folks become older, the pores and skin turns into thinner. It additionally loses a few of the protecting fatty layer that helps cushion blood vessels from harm.”

It might be nice if the Trump administration offered detailed medical information that might put an finish to all of the hypothesis that he’s affected by some mysterious sickness. However as a substitute, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt simply retains giving the identical doubtful clarification: It’s a kind of hand-shaking accidents you’re at all times listening to about.

“President Trump is a person of the folks, and he meets extra People and shakes their arms each day than every other president in historical past,” Leavitt stated in a considerably garbled assertion to Fox Information Digital on Wednesday. She continued, “His dedication is unwavering, and he proves that each single day.”

Leavitt offered the same assertion to NBC Information, including, “President Trump has bruises on his hand as a result of he’s continually working and shaking arms all day, each day.”

It seems Leavitt obtained this line from Trump himself. Right here’s what the president-elect stated when he confirmed as much as his Time “Particular person of the 12 months” interview with a bruise on his hand three days earlier than Thanksgiving:

Sitting below vibrant lights for a 30-minute photograph session forward of a 65-minute interview, he’s requested to clarify the bruising on his proper hand. “It’s from shaking arms with hundreds of individuals,” he says.

There isn’t a proof that Trump labored a rope line simply earlier than his Time interview, or that he “meets extra People” than “every other president in historical past.” And it’s not like every other world leaders are continually black and blue from greeting folks (save for nonagenarian British monarchs). However certain, he does greet lots of people, and he has a reasonably aggressive handshake:

So what’s actually happening with Trump’s large bruise? You’ll should determine for your self. Both it’s proof that he’s probably the most rugged and hardworking man ever to sit down within the Oval Workplace, or it’s affirmation that he’s, as Graydon Carter famously put it, a “short-fingered vulgarian” with “pores and skin of gossamer.”