President Donald Trump did his best to keep his makeup-slathered hand out of sight on Friday—but couldn’t avoid a cheeky flash as he held up his latest executive orders.
Speaking at a White House press conference while signing two new proclamations, the 79-year-old leader employed a now-familiar tactic of keeping his left hand clasped over his right to hide the concealer daubed over its concerning bruising.
The two new executive orders Trump signed establish the “Gold Card” visa program plus changes to the H-1B visa program requiring $100,000 annual payments for its recipients.
The dark mark has been the subject of speculation and intrigue as questions continue to swirl around the aging president’s health.
The White House previously insisted that the serious-looking discoloration on the president’s hands is a “minor soft tissue irritation” caused by “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regime.”
In July, the administration admitted that the bruising and the swollen ankles were symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition in which blood pools in the legs due to poor circulation.
Raising even more concerns to onlookers is that Trump has recently been seen with one side of his face appearing to sag. In addition, he has reportedly been seen falling asleep during public appearances.
These changes follow a period of public disappearance during which wild online speculation flared that the president had died.
Experts have speculated that these changes are all signs of serious health issues, including possible congestive heart failure and/or early dementia.
“Congestive heart failure is what typically causes swelling, you know, largely swollen ankles,” psychology professor Harry Segal said on his Shrinking Trump podcast. “I think he’s not, I mean, he’s not doing well,” he added.
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