Trump Responds When Asked About Bruise On His Hand

President Donald Trump addressed a wave of media speculation Thursday after photographs from the World Economic Forum showed a visible bruise on his left hand, brushing aside concerns and offering a straightforward explanation rooted in a minor accident and his daily health routine.

The 79-year-old president appeared at a signing ceremony in Davos for an international initiative known as the Board of Peace, where cameras captured the discoloration on his hand. Almost immediately, the image sparked chatter among reporters and political observers eager to manufacture controversy.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt moved quickly to clarify the situation, explaining that the bruise resulted from the president accidentally striking his hand on the corner of a signing table. She added that President Trump regularly takes a high-dose aspirin regimen for cardiovascular health — a practice well known to increase the likelihood of visible bruising.

President Trump himself addressed the matter directly while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One as he departed Davos, making clear that there was no cause for alarm and dismissing any insinuation about his health.

When asked about the bruise, Trump joked: “I would say take aspirin if you like your heart, don’t take aspirin if you don’t want to have a little bruising.”

Beyond the manufactured health narrative, President Trump used his appearance at the forum to outline key U.S. policy priorities, discussing economic growth, international trade, and foreign policy in remarks that drew significant global attention.

The episode comes amid renewed attacks from legacy media outlets attempting to cast doubt on the president’s fitness for office. In December, Leavitt sharply criticized The New York Times and its White House reporter Katie Rogers for promoting claims that President Trump is cognitively unwell — particularly striking given the paper’s past coverage of former President Joe Biden.

Rogers, alongside journalist Dylan Freedman, authored a recent piece titled “Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities Of Aging in Office,” suggesting the president has reduced his public schedule and appears more tired than during his first term, according to reporting cited by The Daily Caller.

Leavitt forcefully rejected the narrative, noting that the article was penned by the same reporter who previously downplayed concerns about Biden’s health after his highly publicized fall on Air Force One in March 2021.

“I will point out one fake news story over the weekend before I let you all go from The New York Times that took about one third of the president’s daily calendar and his daily schedule and said that he’s doing less than he did in his first term or he might not be fit for the job. That is unequivocally false and it’s deeply unfortunate that this story was written by the same outlet and the same reporter who wrote this. ‘Biden is doing 100 percent fine after tripping while boarding Air Force One,’” Leavitt said.

“Oh, same outlet, same reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job. Are you kidding me? You all see him almost every single day. He is the most accessible president in history,” Leavitt continued.

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Under Rogers’ byline, The New York Times previously ran the headline “Biden ‘Doing 100 Percent Fine’ After Tripping While Boarding Air Force One,” citing then–Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre, who blamed the incident on strong winds.

Video footage showed Biden stumbling forward on the steps of the aircraft before appearing to lose his balance again and landing on his left knee.

“It’s pretty windy outside,” the article quoted Jean Pierre saying. “It’s very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself. He is doing 100 percent fine.”

Leavitt argued that the Times — and Rogers specifically — forfeited any credibility on presidential health matters with such coverage.

“Again, same reporter, same outlet who wrote falsely over the weekend that President Trump is not fit for the job. I can assure you he absolutely is. You all see that with your own eyes on a daily basis and the president’s physician has now given you all three detailed reports on the state of the president’s health,” Leavitt added.