47⬅ Donald Trump: Neck Rash, March 2026

The president's physician stated that "President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment, prescribed by the White House doctor. The President is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks" 1.

Informed online speculation mentioned 5-FU or imiquimod creams to treat actinic keratoses and described the rash as a "red scaling reaction" 2. He has a history of actinic keratosis MORE. Later photographs do not show the rash.

It is remarkable how different the skin lesion looks from photo to photo, all taken on the same day, probably within a few minutes of each other.

For completeness, I note the waxy-looking nodules on the concha of the right ear, which are poorly seen in the other photos and were not there in 2023. Waxy nodules occur in amyloidosis, but these do not seem to be typical of that appearance.

Question for dermatologists: Could this fit with phrynoderma? Note the "pitted nodule." Phrynoderma could theoretically occur as a result of acute vitamin A deficiency caused by treatment of amyloidosis by patisiran, which drops TTR levels and impedes vitamin A transport. I suspect the underlying red rash rules out phrynoderma.

The rash appeared in late February (Feb. 27), or possibly mid-February (Feb. 13), and was gone by at least May 1 (photo). If it did appear mid-February that would undercut the claim of March 2 that Trump "is using this treatment for one week" by violating either the present-tense or the duration.

• Top: New York Times | Mar. 2, 2026 | Doug Mills/The New York Times 1
• Bottom: Mar. 2, 2026 | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-arrives-for-a-medal-of-honor-news-photo/2263902471