White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has sought to dispel fresh speculation about President Donald Trump’s health by insisting that mystery bandages spotted on his hand are the result of handshaking.
As concerns grow around the aging 79-year-old president, Trump has been photographed in meetings, rallies, and gala events sporting band-aids on the back of his hand, in a notable shift from his earlier use of makeup to conceal hand bruising.
The White House had previously said that the bruising was the result of constant hand shaking, coupled with an aspirin regimen.
However, it had so far remained silent on the mysterious bandages, sparking speculation that Trump could be receiving intravenous medical infusions to treat a condition.
Asked by the Daily Beast to explain the latest development, Leavitt also put it down to the president “constantly shaking hands.”
“The Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal,” she replied during her press briefing on Thursday.
“He is meeting with more people than any of you even know about on a daily basis. He’s also on a daily aspirin regime, which is something that his physical examinations have said in the past as well.”
Leavitt’s explanation comes after Trump was also seen apparently dozing off during Oval Office and Cabinet meetings and increasingly drifting off mid-sentence during speeches.
His swollen ankles have also raised concerns, which are the result of the president having chronic venous insufficiency—in which the veins of a person’s body have trouble returning blood to the heart.
But while the White House insists the president is in excellent health, Leavitt’s explanation on Thursday was met with widespread public skepticism.
“A bruise doesn’t require multiple band-aids,” quipped one social media user.
“Is he shaking hands with chainsaws? Why does he need bandages?” asked another.
Another person added: “Putting aside that she’s obviously lying, the next question should be: so he’s so weak and old that shaking hands is causing that much damage?”
Trump’s health has been a sensitive topic for the White House, which revealed his CVI diagnosis in July, but only after being asked repeatedly about why his ankles appeared so swollen at various events.
It has also been evasive about MRIs that the president has had, with the public only learning about them after Trump let it slip during a gaggle aboard Air Force One.
Regarding his hands, the president was first spotted wearing two large band-aids during a Cabinet meeting earlier this month.
His mysterious bandaged hand also made its red carpet debut at Sunday night’s Kennedy Center Honors, and then at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night as he sought to talk up his economic credentials.
This week, Trump also revealed that he has three cognitive tests, which he claims he had aced. The Montreal Cognitive Assessments he has undertaken are, in fact, used to screen for early dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
“In addition to the Medical [assessments], I have done something that no other President has done,” he wrote in the 488-word rant, ”on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know.”
But it is not clear whether those three tests included tests taken during his first term, or if all three took place this year.
Asked by the Daily Beast to clarify the dates, Leavitt said she would provide that information “at a later date” and that “the president has spoken about that quite extensively over the years.”
However, Trump did not mention how many cognitive tests he had taken until his Truth Social post this week, and did not outline when they were conducted.
