Donald Trump publicly humiliated his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt by contradicting her repeated reassurances and excuses about his health problems.
Since Trump, 79, returned to office last January, speculation has swirled about the bruises on his hands and his cognitive ability, particularly after he underwent a mysterious scan in the fall—with the Daily Beast leading the way in reporting on the president’s various medical issues, including his swollen temples.
Leavitt, 28, has repeatedly claimed that the reason for the discoloration on the back of his right hand—which the president has covered with band-aids, bandages, and thick makeup—is that as a “man of the people,” Trump “meets more Americans and shakes their hands every day than any other president in history.”
While Leavitt also attributed the bruises to the president’s routine aspirin use, she often led her responses to questions about Trump’s hands by blaming his bruises, including when asked about the issue earlier this month by Beast political correspondent Farrah Tomazin.
“The president is literally constantly shaking hands, the Oval Office is like Grand Central Terminal,” she explained earlier this month.
Makeup covers bruises on Trump’s backside as he hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for meetings at the White House in February 2025. / Chip Somodevilla / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Days after bruising appeared to spread across Trump’s left hand—which he doesn’t use to greet people—the President on Thursday gave a revealing interview about his health to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump offered a different reason for the bruising: overuse of aspirin and his thinning skin.
He told the Journal that he takes 325 milligrams of aspirin a day—four times the “low dose” of 81 milligrams commonly used in daily therapy, according to the Mayo Clinic—despite his doctors urging him to take less.
Bruises are seen during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in the Oval Office in August 2025. / Chip Somodevilla / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
This higher-than-recommended aspirin use, Trump said, became a central factor in the bruising that appeared on his hands. But he told the shop that he refuses to reduce the dose because he has been on the same routine for decades, and is “a little superstitious.”
Trump also said that he wears makeup because he has soft skin, and bruises when it wears off.
Discussing an episode in which Attorney General Pam Bondi, 60, slapped him, he told the Journal: “The ring hit the back of my hand, and, yes, there was a small cut.”
A bandage was visible on Trump’s right during an event at Mount Airy Casino Resort on December 9, 2025. / Alex Wong / Getty Images
He added that he puts makeup on his hands after “getting it off again by someone,” and said: “I have makeup that, you know, is easy to put on, it takes about 10 seconds.”
Trump also gave more details about his scan in October, further embarrassing Leavitt, who dodged repeated inquiries about it from the White House podium.
She at first repeatedly answered questions without mentioning the text and relying on written assurances about its condition. On October 23, she declined to specify which text he received. On November 4, pressed on why Trump a week earlier described it as an MRI, she said she would “check back”, while insisting that he was in “optimal physical health” and formulated the Walter Reed visit as a routine follow-up.
Trump told people he had an MRI when apparently he didn’t, for reasons that remain unclear. / REUTERS
When asked again on November 12, Leavitt relied on the language of the doctor’s memo, repeating that Trump received “advanced imaging” as part of a routine exam and that doctors considered him in “exceptional” condition, without explaining why the imaging was ordered.
Leavitt’s position remained unchanged until December 1, when Trump’s doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, released a memo describing the cardiovascular imaging. Leavitt told reporters that the screening was normal and positioned the disclosure as transparency.
Even then, the White House’s preferred shorthand remained “advanced imagery,” rather than a clear and consistent label for what Trump had gone through.
In the Journal interview, Trump said he was telling people it was an MRI, but then corrected it: “It wasn’t an MRI… It was less than that. It was a scan.” He complained that the text had given critics “ammunition” because it raised questions about whether something was wrong.
The Journal reported that Trump and Barbabella ultimately characterized the procedure as a CT scan performed to rule out cardiovascular issues, with no abnormalities found.
Leavitt is Trump’s loyal mouthpiece, repeating blatant falsehoods on a range of issues, even though they are obviously untrue. / Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Leavitt is quoted in the Journal as saying the White House had “often referred to the procedure as ‘advanced imaging,'” while not addressing why Trump did not correct the description of the MRI/CT earlier.
In the Journal article, Trump also discussed his ‘cankles’ and why he can’t seem to stay awake during public meetings.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Leavitt for comment.