President Donald Trump said in a recent interview that he briefly wore medical compression socks to treat swelling in his lower legs and that he uses makeup on his hands to hide bruises. The admissions come after weeks of attention to swelling at his ankles and dark marks on his hands.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal he had a short course of compression socks but stopped because, βI didnβt like them.β His White House doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said the president has what he called βsuperficial chronic venous insufficiency,β a common condition that can cause leg swelling and is usually treatable.
The president also addressed a scan he had at Walter Reed in October. The White House said the procedure was preventive and that the results were normal. That clarification did not end the questions, but it did give aides a simple line to use when the topic came up.
Reports from The Daily Beast and others had pointed out instances where heavy makeup seemed to cover his hands and where his ankles looked swollen on camera. Trump and his circle pushed back at times, but he confronted the issue directly in the interview.
The conversation turned to his long standing aspirin routine. Barbabella said Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin each day for cardiac prevention, a much larger dose than the common 81 milligram low dose. βTheyβd rather have me take the smaller one,β Trump said. βI take the larger one, but Iβve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.β
Asked why he keeps that higher dose, the president said, βIβm a little superstitious.β βThey say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I donβt want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?β he added.
A short anecdote in the interview showed how the bruising can happen. Trump said that when Attorney General Pam Bondi gave him a high five at the GOP convention, her ring grazed his hand and caused a small cut. βThe ring hit the back of my hand, and, yes, there was a slight little cut,β he said, and aides told the Journal other minor bleeding events had occurred.
On the subject of covering up those marks, Trump admitted he sometimes daubs on makeup after an incident. βI have makeup thatβs, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds,β he said. The line landed as a moment of odd levity in an interview that otherwise leaned toward defense and explanation.
At 79, President Trump rejected claims that his health or mental sharpness are failing. He said he feels energetic and credited his condition to βgood genetics.β
Featured image via X screengrab
