Donald Trump was photographed leaving the White Houseon Tuesday with what appeared to be a sizeable chunk of skin missing from his right hand, prompting a fresh wave of questions about the former president's health as he headed to Marine One for a flight to Joint Base Andrews en route to China.
For context, the latest speculation over Donald Trump's condition follows months of close scrutiny of his physical appearance, medical appointments, and public statements. Social media users and some commentators have repeatedly fixated on bruising on the back of his hands, his visits to doctors, and his own boasts about cognitive testing, treating each stray detail as a possible clue to the true state of the 79‑year‑old's health.
The striking image of Trump's hand was credited by independent journalist Aaron Rupar to photographer Kent Nishimura of AFP. In one tightly cropped shot, theskin on the back of Trump's right handseems to gape or collapse inward, creating the impression of a hole. Other frames from the same departure show the former president with the familiarmottled bruisingthat he has sometimes attempted to conceal.
a look at Trump's disfigured right hand as pictured yesterday by Kent Nishimura of AFPpic.twitter.com/CIgzQAnkBQ
The White House moved quickly to bat away the latest flurry of rumours. Spokesperson Davis Ingle toldThe Irish Starthat Trump is, in the administration's view, not only healthy but exceptional. 'President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises,' Ingle said, adding: 'He remains in excellent health.'
my goodness -- Trump's hands looked cadaver-like tonight(Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty)pic.twitter.com/CsnIEvN90R
The photograph of Donald Trump's hand has become, in effect, a political inkblot. People see what they want to see.
On one side are those who are convinced the image betrays something serious. 'Been saying forever that his veins in that hand are gone.. zero blood flow,' one user wrote, treating the photograph as medical evidence rather than a fleeting snapshot.
These were Trump’s hands yesterday.He keeps blaming it on “hard hand shakes”.Who shakes with their right and left hands?pic.twitter.com/MV9xn2Gamb
Others went for dark humour. 'We seem to be at the part in the story where he's been creating and hiding his horcruxes in advance of what would otherwise be his downfall,' another person joked, borrowing language fromHarry Potter. A third commenter went even further, quipping: 'That thing is gonna open and the diseased locusts will burst forth.'
Source: International Business Times UK
