Trump, 80, Tries to Hide Chronic Health Issue During Primetime Speech

Two main things were familiar about President Donald Trump’s cuckoo address to the nation on Thursday.

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Firstly, the grievances he aired. The 80-year-old has been a broken record when it comes to claims of past election rigging. He used his 27 minutes of airtime to rehash them anyway.

As has become customary for the octogenarian president, he covered deep bruising on the back of his hands with a thick layer of foundation, trying to obscure his ailments from the nation as he ranted and raved.

Bloomberg photos from the East Room address show both hands with a healthy dose of make-up. The president’s dominant hand, his right, is almost totally covered.

After his address, Trump was pictured shaking hands with journalist John Solomon. Under the foundation, a brownish-purple hue peeks out.

Indeed, it is handshaking that the White House has sought to blame for the marks on Trump’s hands.

“President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. The President is a man of the people, and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history. President Trump’s commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast in a statement after Trump hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. Photos from that meeting last month revealed even worse markings on his hands than usual.

This is fishy, though, given that he doesn’t use his left hand for handshakes. Asked about the marks on his way back to Washington from the World Economic Forum in Davos in February, Trump said, “I clipped them on a table.”

Trump stood for the duration of his speech on Thursday, meaning his oft-spotted cankles were not on display. When the president sits, his trousers ride up his legs, exposing his swollen ankles.

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They were last spotted during the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month, during a bilateral meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Asked about the president’s health, the White House, however, refused to answer questions and instead reverted to its usual childish insults against the press.

“The Daily Beast is [a] mentally challenged, lightweight operation,” 32-year-old Ingle said in a typo-laden statement that missed a key word.

“Hopefully the idiots who work there will eventually be able to get themselves a real job.”

When not firing shots, the White House blames chronic venous insufficiency—which occurs when your leg veins do not work properly—for the bulbous spectacle.

Bruised hands and chunky ankles are just two issues the Daily Beast has chronicled as part of a wider focus on the president’s health. Trump, the oldest person to be inaugurated as president, has a myriad of other issues, but you wouldn’t know it if you asked the administration.

Trump underwent his annual physical and dental at the end of May. His personal physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, wrote in a memorandum that the president “remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function.”

Trump has also developed a tendency to fall asleep during high-level meetings, regularly makes gaffes, and his repetition has caused a leading psychiatrist to question his fitness for office.