Trump's vein diagnosis gives rare glimpse into health issues
Trump, 79, has chronic venous insufficiency, according to the White House physician. The condition occurs when a person's leg veins struggle to pump blood back to the heart, causing blood to pool.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the disclosure at the top of a routine press briefing late last week, after images had been circulating online of Trump with swollen legs at the FIFA Club World Cup and a bruised hand covered in makeup.
'I know that many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president's hand and also swelling in the president's legs. So, in the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today,' Leavitt said, before outlining Trump's condition.
She said the bruising on his hands 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.'
The White House later released a more detailed memo from the White House physician.
Critics have accused Trump of trying to hide the true details of his health behind bluster, so the announcement of a specific diagnosis came with some surprise — and a certain amount of skepticism.
Barbara Perry, a presidential historian and professor at the University of Virginia, called it 'a rather sudden turnaround from the Trump White House.'
Perry commended the administration on its transparency but noted the public needs to believe what it's being told.
'Do we have complete information now? We don't know that. We only know what they have told us, and we have to presume that it is accurate,' Perry said.
It's not unusual for an administration to be reticent about sharing a president's personal health information, and there's no legal requirement for an administration to be transparent about it.
Perry noted there's a tension between what a president wants to disclose and what the American people have a vested interest in knowing. There's no incentive for anyone in the administration — let alone the White House physicians — to be truthful and transparent about the person who could fire them.
Perry said she would put Trump toward the same end of the transparency spectrum as former President Biden, who dropped out of the race last summer after a debate performance where he appeared unfocused, confused and unable to respond to many of Trump's attacks.
Biden's White House denied reports of any mental decline. But by the end of his term, the public had lost confidence in his ability to lead.
Trump during the campaign often boasted of his physical health and stamina as he sought to draw a contrast with Biden. While in office, he has continued to accuse Biden and his aides of covering up the alleged mental decline, and Trump's GOP allies in Congress have launched an investigation into what those White House aides knew.
Yet Trump has hardly been forthcoming himself.
When he was infected with COVID-19 in fall 2020, the administration did not release many details about his condition or treatment. His physician Sean Conley repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the illness. It wasn't until months later — after the publication of a book from former chief of staff Mark Meadows and investigation by The New York Times — that the public learned just how seriously ill the president was.
The Times reported Trump's blood oxygen was so low before he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that officials believed he would need to be put on a ventilator. He recovered after being granted special access to an unapproved drug to fight the virus.
Trump during the campaign pledged to release his medical records but then did not share even basic health data. Like much of Trump's medical history, the information that has been released has been largely hyperbolic.
In 2015, Trump released a letter from his then-physician Harold Bornstein that said he would be the healthiest president in history. Two years later, Bornstein admitted Trump dictated the letter himself.
During his first term in 2018, Trump's former White House doctor Ronny Jackson, now an ally in Congress, said the president had 'incredibly good genes' and joked that he might live to 200 years old if he had a healthier diet.
Current White House physician Sean Barbabella wrote in a memo after Trump's annual physical in April that the president lives an active lifestyle that includes 'frequent victories in golf events.'
Barbabella pronounced Trump 'fully fit' to execute the duties of the presidency.
Trump will be 82 at the end of his term, which would make him the oldest person to hold the office, beating Biden's mark by just a few months.
Even after he was grazed by a would-be assassin's bullet in July 2024, the Trump campaign provided very little information about his recovery or any lingering health effects.
Jeffrey Kuhlman, who served as former President Obama's physician from 2009-13 and ran the White House Medical Unit for former President George W. Bush, said he thinks the current administration realized Trump's physical condition couldn't be hidden.
'It's at least a breath of fresh air' to see transparency about 'conditions the rest of us could see already,' Kuhlman said. 'Presidents don't like to talk about their health unless they are forced to. When you have bruises on your hands and swollen ankles … you don't get brownie points for this.'
Kuhlman, who wrote a 2024 book about his experiences as a White House doctor, said he was heartened to see a memo from Trump's White House physician that was 'competent and factual.'
'I'm not sure it's a turning point in transparency, but it is promising to at least see a doctor write something factual, and have a competent workup,' Kuhlman said.
'This is the first [memo] that's been written by a doctor instead of by Trump himself.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Hamilton Spectator
12 minutes ago
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Dozens killed while seeking food in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel
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Hamilton Spectator
12 minutes ago
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Trump pulled the nomination of former Fox News medical contributor Janette Nesheiwat just before Senate confirmation hearings in May. Loomer had posted on X that 'we can't have a pro-COVID vaccine nepo appointee who is currently embroiled in a medical malpractice case and who didn't go to medical school in the US' as the surgeon general. Criticism for 'Biden holdovers' Driscoll's directive that West Point remove Easterly , shared on X , came just a day after she was announced as the Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in West Point's social sciences department. Easterly had served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, facing harsh criticism from Republicans who argued that her work to counter misinformation about elections and the COVID-19 pandemic amounted to censorship. On Tuesday, Loomer posted on X about Easterly's new role at West Point, saying 'Biden holdovers' at the Defense Department were 'undermining' Trump's administration. Prompting departures at the National Security Council On April 3, Loomer presented 'research findings' to Trump, Vice President JD Vance , chief of staff Susie Wiles and others including then-national security adviser Mike Waltz , during an Oval Office meeting, according to people speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. A day later, Trump said he had fired 'some' White House National Security Council officials, downplaying Loomer's influence on the moves. The departures included the director of the National Security Agency, Air Force Gen. Tim Haugh , who also oversaw the Pentagon's Cyber Command, along with Haugh's civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble. When reached for comment, Loomer referred The Associated Press to an X post, saying she was not going to divulge any details about her Oval Office meeting with Trump 'out of respect' for the president. In a subsequent X post, Loomer appeared to take credit for the firings, writing, 'You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?' She noted, 'the fired officials' were being defended by Trump critics on CNN and MSNBC. Loomer called for Waltz's ouster in the weeks following revelations he had mistakenly added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans. As reports began to circulate that Waltz could be leaving the administration — he was ultimately nominated as United Nations ambassador — she appeared to take credit, writing 'SCALP' in an X post. A 'pressure campaign' targeting the Justice Department Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, received an email in March saying he was being terminated 'on behalf of President Donald J. Trump,' according to a person familiar with the matter. The email came exactly an hour after Loomer called for him to be fired in a social media post that highlighted Schleifer's past critical comments about Trump while Schleifer was running in a Democratic primary for a congressional seat in New York. Earlier this month, Loomer took a victory lap after the Justice Department fired Maurene Comey , the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Jeffrey Epstein , three people familiar with the matter told The AP. Comey's ouster, Loomer said on X, followed her two-month 'pressure campaign.' Has Loomer spoken out about others? Yes, chief among them Attorney General Pam Bondi . Loomer has called for Bondi's resignation over failure to keep promises to release more files from the Justice Department's sex trafficking investigation of Epstein, branding her a 'total liar.' Earlier this month, following DOJ's revelations that no Epstein 'client list' existed and no more files would be released, Loomer posted on X that she was told that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was 'seriously thinking about resigning' amid his ongoing clashes with Bondi over the case. Weeks later, both Bondi and Bongino were still on the job. What has Trump said about Loomer's role? In April, Trump denied that Loomer had anything to do with aides being ousted from their jobs at the National Security Council, calling her a 'very good patriot and a very strong person' who only made recommendations. 'Sometimes I listen to those recommendations, like I do with everybody,' Trump said then, adding: 'She's usually very constructive. She recommended certain people for jobs.' Loomer was seen traveling with Trump during last year's campaign, accompanying him on a trip to New York and Pennsylvania as he commemorated the 9/11 attacks. 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