47⬅ Donald Trump: Skin Mysteries

It would appear that something more than bruising may be affecting Trump's skin. Among the mysteries: On at least two occasions he has applied a band-aid to the back of his right hand and there is a puzzling photo that may show a nearby ulceration. SEE BELOW Comment: I don't have a good diagnostic hypothesis for these phenomena, but it is interesting that the same area seems to be preferentially involved in the examples found so far. Perhaps a neuropathy has left the back of his right hand relatively numb, and that predisposes him to trauma there.

The back side ("dorsum") of Trump's right hand is taking a beating.

Delicate skin

The Wall Street Journal reported that "His skin is so delicate that Pam Bondi, now his attorney general, caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee" in July 2024 1.

The photo below at left, taken at the convention, no doubt shows the site of the "nick." (The image also shows the skin-colored covering he commonly applies to his hand.) Comment: But the high-five explanation sounds bogus. How does high-five cut the back of the hand? Are there photos or videos of the high-five? It is surprising that the shooting days earlier in Butler, PA was not blamed.

Sixteen months later Trump is sporting a bandage covering a different part of his hand, shown below right.

Credits:

• Left: July 16, 2024. Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-during-the-republican-news-photo/2161751202
• Right: Dec. 4, 2025: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-poses-for-photographs-with-rwandan-news-photo/2250001038

Skin ulceration?

Unfortunately, this poor quality does not settle the question of what is causing that white central area in the bruise near the knuckle of the pointing finger. My snap impression was that it was an ulceration of the skin. But it's just too fuzzy to tell.

Credits:

• Apr. 11, 2025: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-makes-his-way-to-board-air-force-one-news-photo/2209135423

Skin mass

This is from 2015-2016, so is likely irrelevant to Trump's current state. It may be just a wart!

Credits:

• Left: 1501.09 Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/donald-trump-miss-universe-2014-gabriela-isler-attends-miss-news-photo/461253186
• Center: 1611.10 Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-barack-obama-meets-with-president-elect-donald-news-photo/622149302
• Right: 1611.10 Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-barack-obama-meets-with-president-elect-donald-news-photo/622153302

Red fingers

What is going on here, with the striking redness of the fingers, spaced 10 months apart? It does not seem to be the lighting. In the first photo, especially, the shadow is seen far away from the red fingers. And why are the fingers of only the left hand affected?

Credits:

• Left: Sep. 3, 2022: Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images — https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-applauds-pennsylvania-news-photo/1242927811
• Right: July 14, 2023: Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg via Getty Images — https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-president-donald-trump-arrives-to-speak-at-the-news-photo/1534491994