At a White House briefing held Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put to rest rumors that President Trump's health was failing based on some recent photos showing the president with swollen lower legs and a bruised hand. The same media that turned a blind eye to Joe Biden's clear cognitive decline whilst he occupied the Oval Office have spent recent weeks speculating about what was going on with the current president's health.
This is what prompted that speculation amongst those who were incurious about Biden's issues:
Trump’s swollen ankles are due to chronic venous insufficiency (not “venus insufficiency”—but wouldn’t that be an interesting disorder), @PressSec asserts. The bruises on his hand are reportedly due to handshaking. https://t.co/DYuQZSN5lv pic.twitter.com/Vkyvg5Y3wW
— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) July 17, 2025
If any of you listen to Mark Halperin's "Morning Meeting" show on 2Way, you might have heard Halperin question whether President Trump's well-known affinity for Diet Coke could be contributing to the swelling and bruising. Halperin encouraged the White House press corps to ask Leavitt for an explanation, but she and the president beat them all to the punch and proactively provided a detailed explanation of what's going on with Mr. Trump.
FULL TRANSPARENCY: Karoline Leavitt addresses speculation about President Trump’s bruised hand and swollen ankles pic.twitter.com/sKTgb9PYqT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 17, 2025
Leavitt read out a memorandum from President Trump's personal physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella.
In recent weeks, President Trump noticed mild swelling in his lower legs. In keeping with routine medical care, and out of an abundance of caution, this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the White House medical unit.
The president underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies. Bilateral lower extremity venous Dopler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70. Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease.
Laboratory testing included a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, coagulation profile, d'dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide and cardiac biomarkers. All results were within normal limits. An echocardiogram was also performed, and confirmed normal cardiac structure and function, no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness were identified.
I'm no medical professional, but it sounds like the president is in fine shape, and occasionally has to deal with some minor old guy health stuff.
As for the bruising on the backs of Trump's hands, which had been covered by body makeup in recent photos, there's a very simple explanation:
Additionally, recent photos of the president have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand. 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 regimen. This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.
And the president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here.
If you think back to this time last year, we were being told by the Biden White House, the Democrat Party and the duplicitous media that everything was hunky dory with Biden and we were being duped by "deep fakes." Thankfully, one year on, we have a White House that respects Americans enough to tell the truth about the president's health.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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