A split-second photo from the U.S. Open men’s final set the internet on fire: President Donald Trump, courtside at Arthur Ashe, with a small blue object clamped between his teeth. The image, shot by award-winning photographer Andres Kudacki during Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz, sent rumor engines into overdrive. Was it a mint, a med, or something spicier?
Kudacki initially captioned the moment as Trump “taking a tablet” on X, then clarified in interviews that he couldn’t say what it was and only used “tablet” as a catch-all, whether mint or medication. He added that Trump was “very discreet,” and that he didn’t see any container or dispenser. Translation: mystery unresolved, speculation unleashed.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes a tablet as he watches the U.S. Open men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. Photo: Andres Kudacki. #trump #usopen pic.twitter.com/QH6OZCSpqM
— Andres Kudacki (@AndresKudacki) September 7, 2025
Online sleuths did what they do. Guesses ranged from wintergreen Altoids to every shade of pharmacy gossip, Adderall, Viagra, Xanax, Lexapro. Some users even quizzed X’s Grok chatbot, its hedged reply tossed out possibilities like clonazepam, alprazolam, or Adderall, then slapped on a big “still uncertain.” Another theory pointed to Hygroton, a blue, square-ish blood-pressure pill. In other words, lots of confidence, zero consensus.
The White House offered a much duller answer: a mint. That tracks with courtroom habit, during Trump’s New York hush-money trial, he was repeatedly seen popping mints from his suit jacket. But because the courtside object was unusually visible and, well, vividly blue, the mint explanation didn’t stop the memeing or the armchair pill-spotting.
Timing poured more fuel on the fire. In July, the White House disclosed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, a circulatory condition that can cause leg swelling, after images showed puffy ankles and bruised hands. CVI is common and usually manageable, but it primed the public to scrutinize any hint of medication. Cue the blue-pill frame grab and a thousand captions about being “blue-pilled,” with bonus Matrix jokes for good measure.
I have identified the little blue pill Trump popped at the US Open… pic.twitter.com/eYXXQEIJ1F
— Shepherd of Knowledge (@ShepOfKnowledge) September 8, 2025
The rest of Trump’s Flushing Meadows cameo wasn’t exactly low-key either. His arrival triggered beefed-up screening, longer lines, and a delayed first ball. The Secret Service thanked fans for their patience while broadcasts captured a mix of boos and scattered applause when the president hit the big screens.
It was his first U.S. Open appearance in roughly a decade, and it came with the full, can’t-miss motorcade of attention. He was seated with White House staff and Cabinet members, alongside Jared Kushner and granddaughter Arabella.
🚨BREAKING: A janitor found this unknown pill container while cleaning up the suite that Donald Trump was watching the U.S. Open in yesterday
This comes after a photo has surfaced of the president consuming a mysterious pill while watching the tennis match pic.twitter.com/HK558AYF53
— greg (@greg16676935420) September 8, 2025
Media watchers were quick to note the obvious: without an imprint code or a shot of the object coming from a labeled tin or bottle, you cannot definitively identify a pill from a single, tight photo. Still, that’s never stopped the internet before, and it didn’t on Sunday. The moment had everything a viral clip needs, a famous face, a curious color, and just enough ambiguity to let the theories run wild.
There’s no proof the object was anything beyond a breath freshener, and even if it were medication, plenty of perfectly boring prescriptions come in blue. But the court of public opinion runs on vibes and visuals, and this one had both.
Trump went to watch some tennis, the timeline will remember the blue tablet. Until someone waves a tin of mints or a prescription bottle, the mystery lives on, Schrodinger’s Pill, simultaneously a Tic Tac and the Talker of the Day.
