President Donald Trump took a dig at former President Barack Obama during Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin’s recent visit to the White House. While speaking about Obama on the occasion, Trump accidentally revealed something that the White House has allegedly been trying to keep out of the public eye for quite some time — the president’s swollen ankles.
In 2025, reports surfaced that Trump was suffering from chronic venous insufficiency. This came to light after observers spotted swelling in the president’s legs. While there have been speculations of some strategic prop placements to prevent these images from going out, public appearances have resulted in more than a few shots of the president’s swollen ankles.
Reactions have ranged from ridicule to health concerns.
BREAKING: New images released of Trump’s massively swollen ankle. What’s going on? pic.twitter.com/My1iwtPXiU
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 10, 2026
Trump underwent a comprehensive check-up performed by the White House medical staff in 2025. They concluded, as read out by White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, that “bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.”
Since October 2025, there have been instances when Trump’s swollen ankles were visible during public appearances. It has distracted viewers from certain key talking points multiple times and has caused a lot of online speculation about the president’s ability to move.
One user on X wrote, “Donald Trump’s ankles are so swollen he looks like he’s wearing invisible ankle weights. The man can barely move. But where’s Jake Tapper? Where’s Alex Thompson? They ran think pieces about Biden’s gait and his sneakers.”
“Now Trump’s dragging his leg, covered in IV bruises, and waddling around with ankles that look ready to burst—and not a single word from the media. The double standard is pathetic,” the user added.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also commented on Trump’s ankles. His jab directed at the president came in response to a certain practice within Trump’s inner circle. Trump has reportedly taken to gifting members of his inner circle $145 Florsheim shoes.
The ones that were dispatched to Senator Marco Rubio appeared to be too big for his feet. To this end, Newsom said, “Maybe Trump just assumes everyone else has swollen ankles”. He posted this on his press office X account. Users online have further shared their views on Newsom’s jibes at the president.
As much as I love Gavin Newsom’s trolling of Donald Trump, I believe he needs to go further. He needs to talk about how American citizens need full transparency on the president’s health. Openly inquire about that shitheel’s ankles and what could possibly be going on there.
— HumanityCritic (@HumanityCritic) August 21, 2025
Trump has especially not liked comparisons with former President Joe Biden, whose shoes were also discussed in news cycles. While there has been little coverage about Trump’s condition, independent sources have taken to comparing how the two issues were covered, calling out biases and double standards.
