The White House provided a new explanation for the source of the recurring bruising on President Donald Trump’s right hand, which was photographed on Tuesday as he boarded Marine One

Concerns have arisen over the president’s hand bruise(Image: Getty Images)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt provided a new explanation for the source of President Donald Trump’s recurring hand bruises as she delivered a press briefing at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

Leavitt claimed the bruising is the combined result of Trump shaking the hands of the people he meets, as well as the “aspirin therapy” he’s undergoing.

“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,” Leavitt explained to the media. “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”

The White House chalked the bruising up to Trump’s serial handshaking(Image: AP)

“The president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here,” she continued, assuring that a memo detailing the president’s latest medical exam findings regarding his hand and swollen leg would soon be shared.

The 79-year-old president was seen with a noticeable amount of concealer covering his right hand while being photographed boarding Marine One at the White House. He was en route to Pittsburgh.

Trump was captured talking to reporters about Russian President Vladimir Putin before his trip when a camera zoomed in on the concealer on his hand, following concerns over Trump’s swollen ankles and tight-fitting shoes that reignited health speculations.

Back in February, there was speculation regarding Trump’s discolored hand, first noticed during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The same bruise reappeared in April, when Trump welcomed the Navy’s football team to the White House for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy ceremony, the Irish Star reported.

Leavitt, however, insisted at the time that the bruising is simply due to frequent handshaking, a common presidential duty.

Hawkeyed photographers spotted the concealer and pointed it out(Image: AP)

“President Trump 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. His commitment is unwavering, and he proves that every single day,” Leavitt said in an earlier statement to The Daily Beast.

Back in December of last year, the then-former president himself told TIME Magazine that the bruise — which had been noticed even back then — was the result of handshaking.

An April health report of the president claimed that he had no major issues, stating that he had normal health functions and “blood flow to his extremities” that was “unimpaired.”

It also said his joints and muscles had “no swelling” and that, while his skin had “minor sun damage,” there were no “concerning lesions or growths” present.

Medical experts share their theories on the bruise’s origin

Medical professionals offered their opinions as they theorized about what they believed is causing the bruise on Trump’s right hand. Dr. Boback Berookhim, a New York-based urologist and men’s sexual health specialist, told the Daily Mail that the concealer on his hand is almost certainly covering up a bruise.

He suggested that the bruising could be from Trump having his blood drawn or even from a simple insect bite. Another possibility is that Trump struck his hand against something, the doctor said.

Bruising on Trump’s hand has been spotted for several months, with some reports indicating that it was seen back in December 2024 or earlier(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The small, raised bump that appears on hands after needle injections is a minor histamine reaction to the micro-trauma — a response that typically fades within hours but can lead to more dramatic bruising in older adults, who have thinner and stiffer blood vessels.

Dr. Neal Patel, a primary care physician in Orange County, California, told the Daily Mail that he believes the handshaking excuse “a bit of a stretch.”

“Shaking too many hands is a little bit of a stretch. President Trump has had something like this in the past, and from my experience and my patients, I would put that lower on the list of possibilities,” he remarked.