Donald Trump would never admit it, but he’s pretty old (Joe Biden is even older!). And when you’re getting up there in age, your body falls apart more easily. It’s why so many old folks have random bandages on their head, and why the former president was spotted with random red marks on his right hand this week. Trump hasn’t explained what happened, but one theory, from Democratic strategist James Carville, is that he has “secondary syphilis.”
“There’s a story [on the Drudge Report] that talks about Trump having hand-cuts, and you can link to it,” Carville said on the Politicon podcast, according to Mediaite. “They don’t look like cuts to me. They look like sores.” He continued, “I’ve asked a number of MDS what medical condition manifests itself through hand sores. And the answer is immediate and unanimous: Secondary syphilis. All right. I think there’s a good chance this man has the clap, and I’m not being particularly secretive about it.”
#SyphilisDon is currently trending on X.
Now I know why syphilis is trending https://t.co/mE6ou0zX1S
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) January 18, 2024
The Morning Joe crew had another, less extreme explanation. “There was a point in time during the day where Trump, very frustrated with Judge Kaplan, banged his hands down on the table,” MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin theorized. “I doubt that like that may never come from that. But could they be exacerbated by that, perhaps?”
“I don’t want to speculate.” What are the red marks on Donald Trump’s hand? Blood, sore, Magic Marker? Morning Joe speculates. (Video: MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/x3CA9MBbz6
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 18, 2024
The actual answer is probably something boring, like a rash. “Rashes on the hands can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from infections to inflammatory conditions to external exposures,” Dr. Joshua Zeichner, an associate professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Hospital, told Business Insider. But it’s fun to speculate.
The living Dorian Gray portrait that is Donald Trump continues to deteriorate. https://t.co/bYiWNt9e6O
— Stephen Robinson (@SER1897) January 18, 2024
Donald Trump has been annihilating Roger Stone at Mario Party 4 https://t.co/ObzN1gIprx
— Mosul Orb Enthusiast (@neuronsparker) January 18, 2024
This man is decomposing like Viserys Targaryen https://t.co/3g6cD8AIV3 pic.twitter.com/y3EWn7MNSN
— Bryan Drake (@BDrake52184) January 18, 2024
No bandages, just open wounds. How is Trump going to “make America great again” when he can’t even take care of his own hand? https://t.co/fb7oPTitRI
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) January 17, 2024
I think a Trump leprosy arc would be pretty funny https://t.co/oyhiXyAB9G
— cool lich (@cool_lich) January 17, 2024
(Via Newsweek)