What did Donald Trump do today?

He tried to get out ahead of yet another story about his health.

Over the past few days, images have circulated online of Donald Trump's severely swollen ankles. Pooling of fluid in the lower extremities is called edema, and while not dangerous in and of itself, it can a symptom of any number of more serious issues.

 

At the same time, there was renewed attention to Trump's right hand, which was once again caked in thick makeup in an attempt to hide a bruise. This has been a common occurrence during Trump's second term.
 

Trump's often-bruised hand in February (left) and this week

The official White House explanation is that Trump is sustaining repeated bruises from shaking hands. This is almost certainly a lie, as the bruise is exactly where you would expect one if a person were receiving intravenous fluids through the veins on the back of the hand.

The characteristic bruise of an IV, recently sustained by a WTDT contributor after minor surgery (unconcealed by makeup)

Today, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt abruptly changed the story, announcing that Trump had been diagnosed "recently" with chronic venous insufficiency. It, too, is not inherently dangerous, although it can lead to painful and debilitating ulcers and loss of mobility, and is often a symptom of more serious problems like heart disease. Leavitt insisted that Trump was completely healthy otherwise. She brandished a letter from a physician, and reiterated the "handshake" story.

However, Trump has a very, very long history of lying about his health—almost comically so for someone who has lived as long as he has with only one serious bout of illness. He got a last-minute diagnosis of bone spurs from a physician whose landlord was his father, allowing him to escape the Vietnam draft. He dictated his own medical assessment during the 2016 campaign, saying through his private physician that he was "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency" and that his tests yielded "only positive results." (Since one generally wants negative results on diagnostic tests, that was a clue, although the doctor in question only admitted that he'd let Trump write the statement in 2018.)

Trump played that trick again in the White House, making a bargain with his government physician: in exchange for Trump's political backing, Dr. Ronny Jackson claimed that Trump could "live to 200" because of his "great genes." (Jackson, who served in the Navy, was later demoted in rank when an investigation revealed that he dispensed drugs, including amphetamines and fentanyl, in the White House without a prescription or keeping accurate records, and without proper examinations.)

Trump nearly died of COVID in October of 2020—after deliberately going through with a debate with Joe Biden while infected and contagious—but staged photos while in a private suite at Walter Reed in an attempt to look like he was healthy. He forced his Secret Service detail to take a drive around the hospital, in an enclosed space with him while he was still contagious. 

Asked about another troubling health episode for Trump, his drift into a confused reverie about his late uncle that included several historically impossible details, Leavitt deflected by scolding the reporter for not focusing on something more important.
 

Why does this matter?

• It's wrong for the president to lie to the public about his health. 

• It's also pointless and egotistical for the president to lie to the public about his health, unless the truth would make people think he wasn't fit for office.