President Donald Trump has ditched his hand bandages after more than a week of sporting the mystery accessory.
Trump, 79, stepped out without the usual bandages covering his right hand on Thursday as he signed executive orders in the Oval Office and mingled with lawmakers during the Congressional Ball.
Instead, the aging president opted for a slathering of the mismatched concealer that has been a fixture on his bruised hand for months.
Trump was sporting bandages as recently as Wednesday, when he hosted tech bigwigs for a White House roundtable.
The noticeable change came after the Daily Beast’s Farrah Tomazin pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the bandages during a media briefing on Thursday.
“As for the bandages on the hand, we’ve also given you an explanation for that in the past,” she said. “The president is literally constantly shaking hands. The Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal. He is meeting with more people than any of you even know about on a daily basis.”
Trump is also on a daily aspirin regimen that an earlier physical exam credited for the bruising on his hand, Leavitt added.
The Daily Beast has religiously cataloged the mysterious bruising on Trump’s hand since it first raised eyebrows in February, combined with relentless coverage of his swollen ankles, mental flubs, and “preventative” MRI scan, all of which have stirred speculation about the state of his health.
When reached for comment on Trump’s bandage-free outing, the White House referred the Daily Beast back to Leavitt’s remarks at the Thursday briefing. She has consistently attributed the bruising to handshaking and aspirin intake.
“This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regime,” Leavitt said in an earlier statement to the Daily Beast.
The New York Times and CNN have turned their attention to Trump’s health in recent weeks, prompting the president to go on the offensive. Trump took particular issue with a Times story that found his public schedule is much shorter than it used to be, even though he has been going on more overseas trips.
“I will know when I am ‘slowing up,’ but it’s not now!” he said in a nearly 500-word Truth Social post on Tuesday. “I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean ‘THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.’ They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it.”
Trump, the oldest person to become president, is notorious for never sleeping, with close aides and White House correspondents alike bemoaning their need to forego shut-eye to keep up with the septuagenarian.
The president’s alarming sleeping schedule at his advanced age might help explain the public doze-offs that have further fueled concerns about his health. On Monday, Trump was caught on camera nodding off while Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins discussed a multibillion-dollar aid package for American farmers.
“There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best,” Trump insists. “In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations at the Great Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seen and supervised by top doctors, all of whom have given me PERFECT Marks.”
