President Donald Trump executed his own cover-up on Monday when he appeared to try to keep his bruised hand out of the spotlight during an appearance in the Oval Office.
The 79-year-old kept his right hand hidden under his left hand while sitting at his desk after his makeup-slathered hand sparked new health questions on Friday.
The president did not appear to be wearing mismatched makeup on his bruised hand on Monday, unlike three days before, but he couldn’t hide the bruising despite his best efforts.
When the president was not clasping his hands on his desk with his left one on top, he put both of his hands under the desk and out of sight as he spoke.
However, there were moments when he was signing the executive orders or making other gestures where the bruising was clearly visible.
On Friday, the glob of tan concealer which did not match the president’s skin tone stood out on his pasty hand.
Trump made a similar move to cover his hand while speaking in the Oval Office, but the makeup job did not go unnoticed as the president made multiple appearances in Washington, DC.
It was the latest in a series of episodes where the president has slathered coverup on his hand since he retook office.
But when the president went to greet the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung later on Monday afternoon, Trump’s massive bruise was fully visible as he extended his hand to the foreign leader.
The dark purple and blue hues on his skin stretched nearly across the entire top of his right hand from his index finger to his pinky finger.
The bruise was also on full display as he sat with Lee moments later in the Oval Office.
The White House line has been that the president’s hand is bruised due to his serial handshaking.
“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,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read from a statement in July of the frequent bruising.
Most of the images of the bruise or his use of makeup have come largely in the second half of every month since it was spotted in February.
When asked about the most recent episode of bruising on Friday, Leavitt told The Daily Beast in a statement that 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.”
Trump isn’t just facing health questions about his periodic bruised hands, but also his swollen ankles.
The president was diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) in July, the White House revealed after pictures of his “cankles” sent the internet into overdrive.
CVI is a common condition among people of his age, characterized by swollen veins in the legs that cannot effectively pump blood back to the heart.
The White House, while being forthcoming about the diagnosis, has been evasive about allowing the media to speak with his doctor and has insisted the diagnosis has not resulted in any lifestyle changes or treatment for the aging president.
In April, the president’s physician released the results from his annual physical. Dr. Sean Barbabella wrote in his memo that the president was in “excellent health.” It stated that the only medication Trump was currently taking for cardiac prevention was aspirin.
