White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was called out after she gave a dubious excuse for what happened to President Donald Trump after he was spotted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday with a large bruise on his left hand.
Last year, rumors swirled that Trump was on his deathbed after he wasn't seen for several days and the White House cancelled his public appearances, a development that fueled speculation in large part because of Trump's recent health problems, which include a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency and sightings of a harsh bruise on his right hand.
Those marks have been noticeable since the summer of 2024, when then-campaign spokesperson Leavitt attributed them to Trump's “constantly working and shaking hands all day, every day” on the campaign trail.
When questions resurfaced after photos also showed Trump with noticeably swollen ankles, Leavitt released a memo from Physician to the President Dr. Sean Barbabella, who described the marks as “minor bruising on the back of his hand” caused by “soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin,” which is commonly taken as a preventive blood thinner.
But now a large bruise and discoloration has been spotted on his left hand, as seen in photos taken by photographers Chip Somodevilla and Fabrice Coffrini at Trump's Board of Peace charter signing.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When asked about this, Leavitt gave the following explanation to CBS reporter and producer Sara Cook:
“At the Board of Peace event today in Davos, President Trump hit his hand in the corner of the signing table, causing it to bruise.”
Trump repeated the absurdity, saying he "clipped it on the table."
No one is buying it.
The White House has still not released the results of a scan after Trump's admission in December that he underwent an MRI of an unknown body part during a visit to Walter Reed Military Center in October.
What the White House did release was a letter from Barbabella saying that "the purpose of this imaging was preventive: to identify issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure he maintains long-term vitality and function."
The imaging results, Barbabella said, are "perfectly normal" and that there are no major abnormalities affecting his heart or major blood vessels. Overall, "all major organs appear very healthy and well-perfused" and "functioning within normal limits with no acute or chronic concerns."
In response to reporters' questions about the MRI, Trump said "if they want to release it, it's okay with me to release it" but said he has "no idea" what part of his body the MRI assessed.
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