President Donald Trump has kept his ankles under wraps in recent days amid concern over his health.
During an Oval Office event on Thursday, the president kept his legs tucked under his desk. At other times, he’s remained standing behind a podium.
On Friday, the president, 79, opted to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Cabinet Room of the White House rather than host a sit-down with the world leader in the Oval Office as he has done on numerous occasions.
While there is no suggestion that the president has changed his schedule in any way, the move allowed him to avoid displaying his ankles, which have been the focus of persistent questions about his health.
The president’s swollen ankles first raised concern in July when he was photographed watching the FIFA Club World Cup final.
The White House later revealed the president had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common and manageable condition in older people.
Since then, the president’s swollen ankles have been the subject of intense scrutiny on several occasions, but the White House has pushed back, saying he has not changed his routine.
However, in recent months, some Trump critics have accused the president of hiding his ankles during events either by holding them in the Oval Office, where he is seated behind his desk, or by just hosting the larger lunch meetings where his ankles could be hidden under the table before the press enters the room.
His ankles have even been cropped out or hidden from view in some official photos taken in the Oval Office.
The president’s swollen ankles were on display during several events during his recent trip to Asia as he sat down for meetings with foreign leaders.
The Daily Beast has inquired with the White House about why the meeting with Orbán was not held in the Oval Office amid the ongoing speculation about his ankles.
The last time the president met with a world leader in the Oval Office, with his ankles on display, was when he hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Oct. 22, two days before flying to Asia.
His swollen ankles were seen over the tops of his black shoes when he hosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office in early October.
Days later, the president had a return visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, his second exam there in six months for a “comprehensive follow-up evaluation.”
Close Trump ally and his former White House physician, Rep. Ronny Jackson, later told Newsmax that it was a “follow-up on his venous issue.”
The president later revealed that he also had an MRI during the exam.
