The relevant subject under scrutiny in this case of Donald Trump has once again come to the limelight as he has become a headline that can be read in the media but this time it is not linked to a policy decision, a legal dispute, or an election promise. Rather it has switched to something more intimate and yet much more graphical the state of his hands.
Being 79 years of age, Trump has officially become the oldest ever president to be elected in office ever. As a person ages, there is inevitably more interest among the general population about health, concern too.
Even as Trump and his medical team remain adamant that the ex-president is still in fine physical and mental health, new images have emerged of his hands looking decidedly wrinkled, discoloured, and even bruised which has spawned a raft of speculation of his health issues.
That focus increased this month when Trump attended with his wife, Melania, a dress rehearsal of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He appeared in a stylish dark suit, but cameras grabbed his hand on the right side,
being in a close-up, where bruising marks and severe wrinkles were also seen. The social media was alight in nearly no time. Complaining citizens as well as critics resorted to such sites as X (previously Twitter), Reddit, Tik Tok, and Instagram to post their observations.
One user is quite brutal in stating, His hand actually gives away his age. Another one followed, saying, “Not just ageing, something seems to be wrong there.” One of the third users even asked, could this be associated with circulation problems or it is even some secret medical therapy.
This is not the first time Trump looks to have caught the eyes of people because of his hands. The same kind of bruise was noticed when he appeared in the New York courtroom during the trial of Stormy Daniels hush-money in 2023.
During a welcoming of the French President Emmanuel Macron in February 2024, a darkened area once more was observed on the back of his hand. The pattern can be found two, three times and medical observers as well as amateur diagnosticians were grinding their teeth: more to it?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not hesitate to dismiss the issue. In an official communication, she demanded that there was a mundane innocent reason: President Trump is a people person and that he spends more time with Americans and has shaken more hands than any other president in history.
He is always committed, and at other times, this commitment is physically reflected.” She later redoubled during a press briefing later in the week and said, “Any bruising on the hand of President Trump was simply a natural consequence of his merciless presence on the job, handshaking, gripping, signing documents, and greeting the people who support him, all in a day at work.”
Perhaps out of a desire to remain casual himself, Trump himself spoke to the rumors at the time in his own Time Magazine Person of the year interview in late 2024, providing again a rather casual explanation. It is during the shaking of hands, he said. You greet thousands of hands all the time per month, and sure it is a scar. That is what leadership is, however.
The independent medical professionals have however given their versions as well, and many of which create a more complicated picture. Dr. The UK GP Ola Otulana, who works at Cassiobury Court, provided a qualified analysis of the photographs of Trump hand.
As it seems to be some surface contusion, Dr. Otulana said. This may be as trivial as hitting your hand against a solid or pushing against an object persistently even by medical services such as when one undergoes a venepuncture or blood draw.
This is given by Dr. Otulana who adds that it may be due to advanced age of the person saying that as one becomes older, the skin becomes thinner and the capillaries under skin will be weaker. This might increase the bruising and permanent. The bruise in the case of Trump would be in the area of the body and would be consistent with this type of age trauma, as well as its size and its coloring.”
Another factor, which is widespread according to the doctor, is medication. The fact that, as many people of the same age take blood thinners to keep up their heart health, if President Trump takes them or even some simple medicine such as aspirin, it can certainly predispose them to bruising and make it worse.
In spite of the fact that Dr. Otulana diagnosed that the bruises were not dangerous at the moment, he had mentioned that they were to be watched. It is not an alarming thing by itself. However, when the bruising is more common or can be seen in other areas that are meant to be uncommon, it may be a sign of a more serious problem.”
This discussion of the hands of Trump took a very strange and viral twist just a few days later when images of an event of the UFC at Las Vegas started getting shared across the internet. The ceremony also featured Trump as he was recognized and Hasim Rahman and newly crowned bantamweight contender
Kayla Harrison put her belt around the waist of the former president. It should have been a time of celebration but all the people soon focused on the pants of Trump, on a straight and visible mark that was going down one of the legs.
Theorists in social media started insinuating that Trump had a Foley catheter on -a tube implanted in the bladder to collect urine, usually applied to disabled patients or anyone with an inability to coordinate urination. There is one viral post that reads, Trump is definitely wearing a Foley catheter. I believe that it is not a crease, it is tubing. You may even tell how it curves in the form of his leg.”
Another viewer went even further: He is using leg braces and he may be wearing a catheter. His right hand might have the bruising due to the infusion therapy as is the case with diseases of the nerves such as Parkinson.
Medical practitioners and Trump believers were also taken aback by these theories. One of the users retorted: That pant leg is squarely pressed. Foley catheters are applied only to hospitals or after surgery. It does not even make sense why Trump was strolling around with one at a UFC occasion.
Nevertheless, the rumors kept spreading, and it is quite an eye-opener as to how deeply split, how focused on the every action of Trump the American population is, and now on every wrinkle and spot, too.
The overall medical portrait, as projected by Dr. Barbabella, the official doctor of Trump himself, has remained the same and portrays the 45 th American president as physically healthy with the mental acumen.
The April 2024 medical evaluation did not record any neurological degeneration, heart condition remained unchanged, and a vigorous approach to the game that involves golf and regular public appearances. Trump has also said to have had a bilateral cataract surgery that succeeded and uses the meds only when he has problems with his heart and skin.
But to many viewers, the visual leads, no matter how innocent they can be, betray the truth. With it being a natural aging problem to pills or something in between, the pictures of the hand of Trump have raised enough eyebrows to cause headlines world over.
As another presidential election is just around the corner, and Trump is, once more, the presumptive leading Republican, the discussion about his age and capabilities will most likely remain in motion. And as the photos keep appearing, there is only one thing that can be said about a wrinkle, it can talk a lot in the world of politics.
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