That’s an unusual bruise under Trump’s right hand there — he was visiting a golf course on Saturday. Here is a close-up:
(Closeup courtesy of Adam Parkhomenko.)
And for that matter, why is he (sloppily) carrying a stack of newspapers with what looks to be a document of some kind in between them? At a golf course? (Which is where this photo was taken.) Even presidents who read have aides to carry papers for them.
Heavy.com picked up this photo: Did Trump Make an Emergency Visit to Walter Reed? White House Says No
Rumors started swirling online that Donald Trump made an unexpected visit to Walter Reed National Medical Hospital for a “cerebral event” on August 1, after a photo of the president showed a large bruise, believed to be from an IV drip, on his right hand.
However, the White House put out a statement on August 2, via reporter Brian J. Karem that claimed those rumors were false. Karem tweeted, “According to the White House Trump did NOT visit Walter Reed Hospital Saturday. According to Pool reports, he is back golfing In VA again today.
(Media Bias / Fact Check rates Heavy.com High for factual reporting and good sourcing, with a slight left bias, but still a clean fact check record.)
The speculation was apparently started by this tweet:
According to the White House Trump did NOT visit Walter Reed Hospital Saturday. According to Pool reports he is back golfing In VA again today. The photograph that sparked all the speculation because of a bruise on @realDonaldTrump hand is here:
Responses to that tweet include this photo, date unknown:
Note the bandage on the back of his right hand.
According to some comments, this is exactly where an IV drip would be placed, say for an MRI with contrast (which I’ve had, and that’s how they did with me). And the bruising matches an IV drip placement, as well.
There could be many reasons for an IV drip, of course, but we’re talking about a 74-year-old man under huge stress, with a lifetime of poor diet and not exercising, who occasionally has trouble walking or holding a glass of water, whose speech patterns have noticeably deteriorated in the past few years, and so on. Whose BMI (when we get honest numbers) is in the obese range.
Trump considers his health to be codeword classified, so it’s not surprising the White House denies another clandestine Walter Reed visit. And I suppose the clinic in the White House has IV drip capabilities, though again, one has to wonder why.
So, two questions:
Why is Trump showing, and not for the first time in recent records, what appears to be the aftereffects on an IV drip?
Why is he carrying his own papers?