Of course, normal handshakes don't involve the back of your hand in any way, shape, or form, so this is an obvious lie even by Trumpian standards.
What health issue does Trump have that the White House is so desperate to cover up?— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) December 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“Karoline, I’ve shaken lot of hands in my lifetime. I’m sure you have too. And I can’t figure out how shaking hands can bruise the back of one’s hand. Can you demonstrate how that would happen?”
“Does it happen because he’s frail or because he doesn’t know how to shake hands?”
“How many per day?”— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 4:31 PM
“What explains this dramatic increase in how many hands he shakes?”
“Did President Biden get bruises on the back of his hands?”
“Why hasn’t he considered taking a break from shaking hands so that he can let his body heal?”— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
"Unsurprisingly, the White House is trying to lie its way through it. The only explanation offered so far for Trump's mangled hand is a laughable one about 'frequent handshaking.' And president now says it's 'treasonous' to report on his health."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) December 11, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Per Public Notice, “A band-aid on a festering hand wound”:
Something’s up with Trump’s health and we should really find out what it is.
… Trump, of course, has political reasons for threatening reporters who might investigate his health. The reality of his decline undercuts his cult of personality, which still maintains he’s a tireless worker who never sleeps and would be damn near immortal if he just cut out the cheeseburgers.
This is about more than just politics though. The country was lucky to survive Trump’s first term even when he was relatively spry, and there are indications his health issues might be playing a role in his increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior.This is about more than just politics though. The country was lucky to survive Trump’s first term even when he was relatively spry, and there are indications his health issues might be playing a role in his increasingly erratic and dangerous behavior…
It’s reasonable to wonder whether Trump’s ailing health is factor in why he’s unable to explain why he’s pardoning convicted drug traffickers while he blows up suspected drug boats, or going on nonsensical rants about make-believe things like “tariff shelves” and 25 percent economic growth. He’s admonishing Americans to get used to having fewer toys for their kids while he’s simultaneously coating the part of the White House he hasn’t destroyed for a ballroom with tacky and garish gold.
It’s odd behavior by any remotely normal standard, but perhaps more explicable if he’s experiencing cognitive issues that require regular testing — and it’s worth noting that Trump’s aforementioned Tuesday night Truth Social screed mentions he’s undergone three separate “Cognitive Examinations,” including one recently “in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know.”
As is always the case with Trump — who at 78 was the oldest president ever inaugurated earlier this year — it’s dangerous to attribute to other factors what can simply be ascribed to malevolence. He’s gone to desperate lengths to conceal his health records for a decade now, and he has a history of making bad and bizarre decisions stretching back to well before he ran for office. His persistently discolored and bandaged hand is not necessarily evidence that he has a grave health condition.
Still, at a time when Trump is pushing the country toward criminal wars of aggression and global pariah status abroad while simultaneously immiserating Americans at home with senseless and self-destructive economic policies, it’s fair to wonder whether he’s of sound mind and body. There’s undeniable evidence that something is wrong. And if it wasn’t a big deal, you’d think the White House would come forward with an explanation more plausible than what they’ve offered so far.
Getty photogs are on the case, but they can only do so much. It would be nice if reporters who have regular opportunities to ask Leavitt and Trump questions developed the type of dogged curiosity about Trump’s health that they had when Biden was in office. And if the response they get is that Trump is still battered and bruised from too much handshaking, then it’s time to call BS and start digging, because there’s a big story here that’s being covered up — in this case literally.
If you’re on social media, remember: Sharing is caring!
War for Ukraine Day 1,386: Winning the War to Secure the Peace
Rusty
There is also supposed to be video of Trump insulting several reporters, and then walking down a long hallway and he is bumping into the walls as he walks? Add the multiple cognitive tests and enigmatic MRI, so what is going on? For a press that absolutely savage Biden for a hoarse voice during a debate, maybe they could actually do their job in this case.
FastEdD
But Lyndon, you know your opponent is not having sex with farm animals.
I know, but …
mrmoshpotato
Or is it because when he shakes someone’s hand, he tries to rip the shoulder out of its socket in some gorilla-like display of dominance because he’s such a massively insecure, narcissistic manbaby?
FastEdD
It is so late that out here on the Left Coast I can post something and it shows up as tomorrow! How cool is that?
mrmoshpotato
@FastEdD: Totally awesome, but definitely past your bedtime, young man! :)
Anastasio Beaverhausen
My very very smart gay physicians group on Facebook thinks it’s periodic infusions of Leqembi. Would certainly make sense. 25th Amendment anyone?
BellyCat
@Anastasio Beaverhausen: i see that Leqembi is a treatment for early Alzheimer’s.
This should be interesting. Good thing he can’t commit any crimes. //
sab
@Anastasio Beaverhausen: @BellyCat:
We were thinking that also. Doesn’t that treatment course have monthly infusions and quarterly at least MRIs?
YY_Sima Qian
History rhyming (gift link to article from the Economist below):
Shalimar
@YY_Sima Qian: Might be time for West and East Germany to break up again.
Anonymous Expat
As much as it’s yet another exercise in pointing out the hypocrisy of Movement Conservatism(tm), it misses the point of institutionalism in how the Presidency works in the same way the MAGA C.H.U.D.s did: by having an institution which is capable of acting in the absence of commands from above, the day-to-day of governance can still happen. This is a good thing, in that it means that we’re less susceptible to the mental state of a single person at the top, in that they (should) have a staff which is capable of undertaking the necessary work.
However, this is also a bad thing, in that it’s currently being weaponized by Steven Miller, et. al. to manage upwards (the same way Cheney clearly managed W) in order to become the Deep State said C.H.U.D.s were convinced were running DC pizzerias. And this is my real fear: that the people who’ve managed to burrow their way into this administration aren’t just run-of-the-mill white supremacists, but honest-to-god accelerationists. The kind of people who believe they can start a race war by causing a blackout have got to be positively giddy at the scale of race war they imagine they could start if they destroy the existing international order.
Seen in that (depressing) light, Trump’s vacillations make perfect sense: not only is he terminally stupid enough to not understand what he’s doing, the people around him are actively encouraging him to do so.
sukabi
@mrmoshpotato: there hasn’t been any video of that type in many many months… probably because if he tried it now he’d fall flat on his face.
His balance has become very wobbly as well…
Nelle
@FastEdD: In 2013, I was living in New Zealand, on the other side of the dateline. One morning, I was on Skype ( remember that?) To the US, making hotel reservations for a big family event coming up in California. The agent i was talking to got very confused when I said something about being a day ahead of her. Now, this was also a time when North Korea was threatening the US. The agent got very quiet and then asked, “Did North Korea attack us?” After all, if I was living in the future, I could at least give her a hint, right?
Baud
@Nelle:
Yes.
Tony Jay
Far be it for me to offer unsolicited advice to every single Democrat in the fifty states, but since the Pincushion Putinist keeps on making such a big deal about it, stuffing his panicked accusations of treason back down his wattled throat and highlighting that no, disagreeing with a plainly unfit liar with delusional tendencies isn’t treason, it’s the most basic behaviour expected of a patriot might be a profitable strategy.
Make him defend it? Make him own it.
Jeffg166
The felon is taking blood thinners making whatever IV they are giving him cause bruising. I suspect it’s his heart.
TS
I was recently in hospital with a bad infection & had an antibiotic via an IV – every 6 hours (lasted about an hour). To avoid having to put the needle in/out of my hand, they left it in & disconnected the tube when not needed so I could easily be up and about. This looks very similar with the ridges underneath the band-aids.
Baud
I thought we libs were into performative stunts. She was convicted of a state crime.
Baud
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: We “have to give it to him,” he’s managed to turn the Ship of State hard to starboard in less than a year.
Mr. Mack
Hoosier Daddy. lol
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
I’m sure the NYT will describe it as “bold” and “brash.”
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud: They sure won’t add “disastrous.”
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
“Sit back and enjoy the show!” /media
Ohio Mom
@Anonymous Expat: That is somewhat similar to what I’ve been thinking, that Trump’s destroying of the economy is something of a diversionary tactic. (Though I don’t think Trump is doing that to divert attention, he’s doing it because he is an idiot and a bully.)
While people worry about the price of groceries (to be fair, I am among them), their attention isn’t on the dismantling of a our democracy and the administrative state.
Vought in particular, merrily makes his way down the checklist that is Prohect. 2025, smirking at what a fine job Trump is doing at keeping the spotlight on him and his projects.
Every bit of press given to say, the razing of the East Wing, just deepens the shadow Vought gets to work in.
I tend to concentrate on Vought, but you are also right to focus on Miller.
Dave
@FastEdD: And in this case odd are pretty decent that the opponent is in fact having sex with farm animals. Figuratively well hopefully.
Betty Cracker
Why don’t Piggy’s physicians make the controversy go away by infusing him via veins that are less visible?
Dave
@Nelle: I’ve actually encountered this sort of thought process and it’s such a basic fundamental understanding that I’m not sure how to explain it.
p.a.
Because they’re Dems.
Hoodie
Trump is generally being used as a cover or vehicle by a host of opportunists who are seeking power and/or wealth. This generally the case with any president but Trump is particularly vulnerable to this because he is mentally incapable of actually managing anything. It looks like some republican politicians are starting to realize they’re not coming out ahead in this arrangement as they see their electoral margins recede. The stuff Miller and Vought want to do is not popular. Trump got elected in no small part because some people talked themselves into thinking that Trump was actually not going to do those specific things. Those people include a large segment of the media. What they didn’t understand is that Trump is not really in control precisely because he is mentally ill and can be easily manipulated by bad actors. This administration is now full of them. It goes without saying that they will do anything to keep him in power, including lying about his health.
JoyceH
@Betty Cracker: Sometimes when a person is getting a lot of medical treatment and repeated use of a vein for an AV, those particular veins get “tough” and difficult to pierce with the needle. I was once hospitalized for a few days and the nurse had to switch arms for my IV. That was just a few days. If Trump is getting fairly frequent IVs on a regular basis, the arm veins might be worn out.
Elizabelle
I wake up every morning hoping that he did not.
PS: glc shared this cartoon yesterday. I like.
Chief Oshkosh
@Betty Cracker: My guess? The people managing the situation are fine with the discussion — IOW, it’s another distraction (even though it’s a big deal of itself).
Who knows? But these people are all fundamentally broken and don’t think like us.
Ohio Mom
@JoyceH: The medical staff could install a port in Trump’s chest, no one would see that.
(A port is a semipermanent medical device, something like a tube, that is placed just under the skin. The inside part of the port empties into a vein, the upper part just under the skin allows an IV to be attached. No need to find a vein for a new needle stick for every infusion.)
It’s a good question, Betty Cracker.
ETA: need to eat breakfast before attempting complicated descriptions.
BellyCat
Heartwarming video upstairs of Obama dropping by his old barbershop to get a haircut.
(So weird that people naturally connect with a politician that naturally connects with people.)
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Hoodie: The only thing Trump seems to care about is the BBB, Big Beautiful Ballroom.
Elizabelle
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Which we think of as the EWE. Ooh! Yuck!
East Wing Eviscerated.
May Trump be gone before any further progress is made on his BBB.
different-church-lady
Of course, none of this counts until Jake Tapper writes a book.
different-church-lady
Have we considered that he might be shooting heroin?
Layer8Problem
@different-church-lady:
Somehow I never considered that. Damn, that would be irresponsible not to speculate about.
lowtechcyclist
@different-church-lady:
Shooting up junk
He was a low-down, cheap little punk
taking everyone for a ride
–Rocky Horror
mrmoshpotato
@Anastasio Beaverhausen:
@BellyCat:
@sab:
mrmoshpotato
@Anonymous Expat:
Great term.
mrmoshpotato
@different-church-lady: Dump and RFK Jr having swimming in sewage playdates?
RevRick
@JoyceH: Or his arm veins, like mine, just roll over. Whenever I get blood work, I tell the phlebotomist to not even bother trying.
RevRick
@Ohio Mom: Ports become infection portals. The risk increases over time.
Ella in New Mexico
As an RN and NP, can I just say that there are a ton of ways to avoid re-using the top of the hand for IV placement for recurrent medication infusions. Easiest would be to place a PICC line or a Port, but using veins in the arm is always an option. Its WAAY easier to get an IV in a big vein in the arm than the tiny, fragile ones on the back of the hand.
There is absolutely no physical way he would have chronic, widespread bruising in a single location on the back of his hand for months simply by shaking hands. I’m guessing he has some type of non-healing venous injury/phlebitis/vasculitis from a past infusion of a caustic medication that injured the vascular bed.
RevRick
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: @Elizabelle:
While those are cute ways of expressing it, I much prefer that Trump has trashed the East Wing like he’s trashed our economy, and trashed our system of laws and justice, and trashed our relationships with allies, and trashed our moral standing.
One thing I learned in preaching class is that you always make the verbs do the heavy lifting. And the more visceral and emotive those verbs are, the better.
Ella in New Mexico
Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)
@mrmoshpotato: A woman I knew was described as “Invincibly Stupid”. Nothing could get through her thick head. It applies to Trump as well.
frosty
@Ella in New Mexico: Unless the docs and nurses at The Great Walter Reed are part of the Deep State and bruising his hand as their only means of showing their opposition!
Where’s my whiteboard and string?
Spirula
@mrmoshpotato: He’s a hep cat into “back fiving.
Karen Gail
Has anyone else read this?
DAMMIT It’s Not Alzheimer’s! Here’s Why It’s A Far Worse Nightmare Scenario
Karen Gail
@JoyceH: If he is getting frequent IV’s then am surprised that the doctors don’t install a port; it would save them from having to find a vein each time and wouldn’t leave the bruising behind after each infusion.
Karen Gail
@Ohio Mom: I just posted the same thing; should read before posting, nay. This way more than one person brings something up people might actually notice.
Elizabelle
I am going with syphilis. Trump did not get off as lightly as he thought with his Viet Nam era “combat” experience. He such a warrior.
Ruckus
@mrmoshpotato:
because he’s such a massively insecure, narcissistic manbaby?
I’d say yes. Actually I’d say absolutely YES.
I’ve often wondered if he’s afraid of his own shadow, because much of his life seems to have consisted trying to bump up his being accepted for far more than he’s ever done. And now he’s 79 years old, much of which he’s done jack and shit about anything positive in any way for anyone but himself. And even there, as of late, he’s done doodly squat, although that seems to be about his maximum level at anything. I’m not very far behind him age wise and I wouldn’t want that level of power for any amount of money. But he has to have an insane level of admiration, or at least attention, and why is that? Because he really knows who and what he is? He’s played the monied life game for his entire adulthood and yet what does he actually have to show for it? His entire life has been money and bullshit and he’s lost his skill at number 2 completely. And I believe he’s already shown where he is at number 1. Long ago.
Another Scott
@Karen Gail: Thanks for the pointer.
I think there’s something there. It’s easy to see the changes in him (e.g. (repost) compare the 2001 interview with him on German TV after 9/11 (11:38) with anything now). The narcissism was there in 2001, as was caring more about buildings than people, but he could have a spontaneous conversation for many minutes that made sense.
Agreed that what he has is different from Alzheimer’s. Anyone who has lived with someone with Alzheimer’s can instantly see that 47 is different.
Dunno about some of the evidence he points to though. E.g. we know he wears giant lifts in his shoes and that seems to make him lean forward in weird ways. But that’s a minor thing.
Thanks again.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Ruckus
@Karen Gail:
As a former mental health counselor I have. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a human brain. Many of them affect things for the person, some of them are obvious and harmful for more than just that person because they affect things in far different ways. I’ve also known some with Alzheimer’s and this ain’t that.
Quaker in a Basement
“As everyone knows, the president has a uniquely powerful grip, a very manly, masculine grip, so when he shakes hands with someone, the isometric force is extremely intense, causing painful damage to the back of the president’s hand. Some say the force is sufficient to press coal into diamonds, very large and valuable diamonds. Besides, you should see the other guy.”
lowtechcyclist
@RevRick:
This. 100% this.
I’ve never considered being a preacher, so it won’t surprise you that I’ve never taken a preaching class. But taking a class like that might not be a bad idea for many Dem politicians.
lowtechcyclist
(Karen Gail @53)
My problem with this fellow’s diagnosis is that the primary symptom he mentions, ‘confabulation,’ is what Trump’s been doing since he began his campaign in 2015. Maybe he’s had this particular variety of dementia for over a decade, but ISTM more likely that he just says whatever it is that he feels like it ought to be true, without any regard for whether or not it is true. Not so much lying about specific things as a wholesale disregard for the truth.
I don’t know what kind of dementia he might or might not have, that’s about as far out from my areas of expertise as the dark side of the moon, but I’m not impressed with this argument for this particular kind.
glc
@mrmoshpotato: Something like that.
His situation is not very subtle. And it’s getting worse. It should be quite an extraordinary thing to see, if he’s still being exposed to the public in a year’s time. And his handlers aren’t having much luck at all these days (as he recently boasted).
If Miller and Vought have any sense, they will be carrying switchblades and keeping a close eye on each other as the boss loses control.
Gloria DryGarden
@Karen Gail: thank you. Very useful link. I’m not a doctor, but I think the article describes it clearly;
it fits the situation pretty accurately.
im not sure when he switched from being a perennial liar, as his ghost writer on art of the deal states, to having these vbFTD symptoms, including confabulation and believing his pronouncements. I don’t know how long this disease takes to come on, but remember covfefe? That was years ago. Hmm
Paul in KY
@Nelle: You should have messed with her a bit. LOL!
Paul in KY
@Karen Gail: Maybe they are afraid he would forget what it was and try to pull it out.
Paul in KY
@lowtechcyclist: I guess (if he did have that) the difference would be that in 2015 he knew he was lying his ass off and now he would believe it.