Burying the Bruises

On Monday, press photographers gathered in the Oval Office to capture President Donald Trump meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung when one unusual detail stood out. A large bruise on the back of Trump’s right hand.

It wasn’t the first time the 79-year-old president was seen with a noticeable bruise. Just days earlier, Trump was photographed with a large smear of makeup covering the same hand as he spoke to reporters at the White House about the FIFA World Cup. The images circulated widely online, drawing speculation from tabloids and social media sleuths. “WHAT IS GOING ON? PRESIDENT HEALTH DRAMA DEEPENS,” the Drudge Report banner blared. Yet from the country’s most powerful newsrooms, there was little more than silence. No front-page write-ups. No broadcast packages. The visible health problems of the oldest president in American history barely registered in mainstream coverage.

The White House has offered narrow explanations but refused to put Trump’s physician before reporters. In April, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella issued Trump’s annual physical, declaring the president in “excellent cognitive and physical health” and “blood flow to his extremities is unimpaired.” But within weeks, photos showed Trump’s ankles swollen enough that the White House acknowledged a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency, a condition common in older adults. In July, Barbabella released a short memo attributing the bruises to aspirin use as “part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen” and “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking.”

Are we seriously expected to believe that? I asked Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the renowned cardiologist and professor of medicine at George Washington University who served as the cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney, for his thoughts on the matter.

“The president’s recent swelling in his ankles has been dismissed as being ‘chronic venous insufficiency’ (despite the fact that during his yearly physical exam in March it was reported that he had no swelling, making the current issue really acute venous insufficiency),” Reiner said. “His hand bruising was described as the result of aspirin therapy and hand shaking which is not a plausible explanation. (Particularly if he also has bruises on his left hand).” Sure enough, recent images show Trump with bruises on the back of his left hand as well, raising more questions about the White House’s explanation of supposed aggressive hand-shaking.

Reiner noted that bruising of this kind is often linked to the use of strong blood thinners for heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation. “During his March exam the White House physician did not disclose that the president is taking a medication like that,” Reiner said. “I think the press should be asking these questions and the White House should make the president‘s medical team available to answer questions.” The press, however, has largely turned a blind eye to the matter.

When President Joe Biden ran for reelection at 81, his age and health were subjected to persistent scrutiny. Fox News and MAGA Media personalities relentlessly pumped out absurd claims about Biden’s health as if he was secretly on the brink of death and promoted “Dementia Joe” hysteria. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers published dozens of stories about his age and physical fitness. Cable news devoted endless hours to the topic. In Trump’s case—the oldest person to take the oath of office who regularly fabricates stories and misremembers names—the bruises and swelling have barely merited a wire-service brief. A review of cable news transcripts shows virtually zero mentions of Trump’s bruises all week. Some who served in the Biden White House now rightfully see it as a clear double-standard.

Former deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told me the deference amounts to a failure of journalism. “It’s perverse for the media to surrender more of their own independent agency than they ever have to the most anti-First Amendment president in our history,” Bates said. “Donald Trump even wants to steal the right to report things he doesn’t want by revoking broadcast licenses. Yet he’s rewarded with a level of deference that results in him being treated like media executives’ collective boss. Decision-makers even marvel at how Trump throws out countless distractions, and then, despite having identified the tactic, fall for it. They need stronger backbones. Ten years late is better than never.”

The reluctance to scrutinize Trump’s health is part of a long pattern. In 2019, Trump made an unscheduled Saturday trip to Walter Reed Medical Center for what the White House insisted was a “routine checkup.” The reason was never disclosed. Years earlier, the now-infamous 2015 letter vouching that Trump would be the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” turned out to have been dictated by Trump himself. As president, Ronny Jackson memorably said Trump could live to 200 if he ate better. Each episode generated fleeting headlines but little follow-up.

The jarring photos published in recent weeks should have been a turning point. Instead, they’ve underscored the gap between what the public can see and what the press is willing to report. Trump’s age, his visible health problems, and the White House’s cagey answers raise real questions about transparency and capacity. Yet the institutions that pride themselves on holding power to account have largely looked away.

That vacuum is now being filled online. Over the last 24 hours, baseless speculation that Trump might be dead has gone viral. In fact, on Saturday morning, the top trending subject on X was, “TRUMP IS DEAD," followed by others related to his health. The matter drew so much attention that Axios reported that "Trump is OK." It’s a reminder that when reliable information is absent, conspiracy theories flourish.

Presidential health, however, should not be left to gossip. It is central to governance, stability, and public trust. The president’s ability to serve out his term is not something the country should have to infer from zoomed-in Getty Images. But as bruises appear and are covered up with concealer, as swelling is alternately dismissed and explained away, the White House continues to release carefully worded notes while the press politely accepts them.

“The public has an important need to know the status of the health of the president,” Reiner said. “This is particularly important in the setting of an almost 80-year-old man. What’s clear is that since 2016 we’ve been told very little about his health.”

The Oval Office photos don’t resolve those questions. They raise them. And until the press decides to treat Trump’s health the way it treated Biden’s, makeup and memos will remain the White House’s first—and last—line of defense.

After Biden’s 2024 loss, some journalists said the election was a wake-up call—that newsrooms needed to do more to expose the truth no matter how uncomfortable or politically charged. Just months later, when it comes to the same issue of presidential health, they are already falling short of that promise.