President Donald Trump appeared to have a new bruise on the back of his left hand Thursday during a signing ceremony for his newly formed Board of Peace in Davos, Switzerland.
The purple, blue and red mark was visible as he addressed world leaders about the new group, which is intended, among other things, to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip following the war there. Trump didn’t mention the bruise during his address, unlike his recent near-miss with a binder clip.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters that the bruise occurred after the president struck his hand on a corner of the signing table during the event.
MS Now reviewed footage of the event, but was unable to find a moment where Trump bashed his hand. However, photos and videos from the beginning of the event don’t show the bruising on the left hand. In addition, White House officials noted that the bruise did not appear on Trump’s hand during photos taken on Wednesday.
A White House official told Fox News that the president is more prone to bruising because he takes a daily aspirin, a regimen previously disclosed by his physicians.
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Trump’s hands have long been a target of interest. Once upon a time, much of the focus was on whether or not they’re “small.”
Former Florida senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio even made jokes about Trump’s hand size during a 2016 presidential debate, saying, “If they’re small, something else must be small.”
Most of the current interest is less about their size and more about their health status. It started last February, when the White House claimed that a bruise on the back of Trump’s right hand was caused by “shaking hands all day, every day.”
In July, Leavitt offered a different explanation, claiming that a “thorough evaluation” discovered Trump had “chronic venous insufficiency,” and stressed that it was “a benign and common condition” in people over the age of 70.
A month later, Leavitt once again blamed handshaking for a new bruise on Trump’s left hand.
Last month, Trump showed up at a Cabinet meeting with two large Band-Aids on his right hand, but the fact that he appeared to doze off during the meeting got the most attention.
The White House’s explanations for the bruises have inspired a lot of skepticism ― especially after he had two “routine yearly check-ups” in a single year.
Last month, CNN’s Jake Tapper suggested that there is “something going on with his health that they’re not telling us.”
In October, Stephen Colbert joked that Trump’s hand injuries were caused by his notorious obsession with McDonald’s.
“Yes, he needs his McDonald’s fresh and piping hot,” Colbert said. “And he apparently pulls his Filet-O-Fish straight out of the fryer, which is why his hand looks like that.”
About the Author
