Donald Trump’s right hand is making bigger headlines than his speeches. The 79-year-old president was caught on camera in the Oval Office at the end of the week awkwardly hiding a botched makeup job that left his skin streaked with concealer.
The gaffe capped off a jam-packed Friday for Trump: he greeted National Guard troops stationed in Washington, swung by the Kennedy Center, and toured the immersive The People’s House museum, all while rocking one of his signature tacky hats. But it wasn’t the museum’s gold trim that had cameras flashing.
Instead, eagle-eyed photographers zeroed in on Trump’s right hand, which looked like it had been dunked in a bottle of the wrong shade of concealer. The pale streak stood out against his blotchy, red skin like a bad spray tan gone rogue.
Trump trying so hard to hide the back of his right hand from the cameras makes me wonder if he’s got the Epstein Files transcribed onto itpic.twitter.com/eACyauHvmR
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) August 23, 2025
By the time Trump got back to the Oval Office, he seemed to realize the mess. While bragging about cosmetic changes made to the room, he went full magician, constantly twisting, turning, and covering his right hand with his left in what looked like the most uncomfortable game of hide-and-seek.
“You see the way this is looking,” Trump said, gesturing to gilded trim around the office, while carefully keeping only the palm of his right hand visible. “There’s nothing like gold, and there is nothing like solid gold, but this beautiful office needed it.” Moments later, the cover-up act resumed, his left hand draped over the right like it was hiding state secrets.
Unfortunately for Trump, the cameras didn’t miss a thing. Close-ups confirmed that his hand was still smeared with mismatched concealer. The mishap comes after weeks of speculation about Trump’s health. Photos taken at the 2025 FIFA World Cup in July showed his right hand and ankles bruised, sparking chatter that the president might be hiding more than just bad bronzer. The White House eventually revealed he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a condition that causes swelling but is rarely serious.
“Recent photos of the president have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand,” Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, wrote in a July memo, which Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read aloud to reporters. “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.”
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On Friday, Leavitt doubled down on that explanation, blaming Trump’s “bruiser” look on his people-loving lifestyle. “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,” she said in a statement. “His commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.” Unwavering maybe, but someone needs to wave over a better makeup artist.
