Trump’s whole hand caked in makeup as he covers bruises before meeting with coal miners

Donald Trump was seen in a new photo with heavy makeup covering a bruised right hand, sparking fresh interest in the president’s health.

While it's not plainly visible from a distance, zooming in on a photo taken of Trump, 79, on Wednesday after a meeting with coal miners shows what appears to be heavy makeup caking the back of his hand. The dark bruise beneath appears to be bleeding through.

Trump's odd bruising was first noticed in February 2025 while the president was meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

An NBC News photo analysis found that Trump had bruising on his hand at least twice during the late summer and fall of 2024, though it was not widely noted at the time.

When pressed for an explanation, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Trump was a "man of the people" and that his bruise was the result of all-day handshakes.

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"President Trump has bruises on his hand because he’s constantly working and shaking hands all day every day," Leavitt said.

Former President Joe Biden was also spotted with a bruise on the back of his hand — albeit a smaller bruise than Trump's — in January 2025, just before he left office.

Leavitt's insistence that Trump is simply shaking too many hands might have held water if it weren't for the fact that Trump's left hand is also bruising.

During his visit to Davos' World Economic Forum last month, Trump was spotted with dark bruises on both of his hands. His left hand was especially dark and discolored.

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On his return trip from Davos, Trump was asked about the bruising on his hand. He told a reporter that he had "clipped them on a table."

In other instances, Trump has claimed that his aspirin regimen is causing his hands to bruise.

Navy Captain Sean Barbabella, Trump's doctor, said that Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin per day for "cardiac prevention."

When doctors prescribe aspirin for cardiac event prevention, patients are usually told to take 81 milligrams per day. Barbabella reportedly recommended that Trump take the lower dose, but the President refused.

“They say, ‘Take the smaller one,’ I say, ‘Well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart,’” he told NBC’s Tom Llamas during a pre-Super Bowl interview last week.

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Dr. Bruce Davidson told The Daily Beast that such a high dose of aspirin is typically used to help stroke patients avoid a second incident.

“I read the report that he was taking 325mg of aspirin, and that is only recommended for people who’ve had a stroke to prevent a second stroke from a partially blocked artery,” he told the outlet.

Last year, the White House confirmed that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which is a condition that affects the legs of some elderly individuals.

Trump has been prickly about any question over his health. He told Llamas during the same interview that "physically and mentally, I feel like I did 50 years ago."

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Despite his insistence on youthful vigor, Trump's sometimes rambling speeches have been cited by his critics as signs of his cognitive decline.

During Davos, Trump on numerous occasions mixed up Iceland and Greenland. In a memo Trump sent complaining that the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not award him the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump appeared to confuse Norway with Denmark when he justified why he wanted to take Greenland for the U.S.

In early January, Trump met with oil and gas executives in Washington, D.C., only to abruptly get up from the table, wander to a nearby window, and gaze out at the construction on his ballroom project.

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Trump has been photographed seemingly falling asleep during meetings and losing his train of thought midway through words or sentences.

In January, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who previously served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiac doctor and who is now a CNN medical analyst, shared an image of Trump apparently sleeping at his desk and noted that he “seems to be struggling with excessive daytime somnolence.”

"Repeatedly falling asleep with a dozen people surrounding your desk is not normal," he said. "It needs to be evaluated."

The Independent has requested comment from the White House.