Hours after rumors of US President Donald Trump missing from public eye went viral, he was spotted with his grandchildren — Kai Trump, 18, and Spencer Trump, 12, on the south lawn of the White House. Late on Friday, posts like ‘Trump is dead’ and ‘Where is Trump?’ began trending on X.
The ‘Trump missing’ rumors were whipped up amid concerns over his health. On Monday, Trump’s hand bruise was seen unconcealed, without any makeup to hid it, which he used to do usually.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the reason for the bruising was Trump ‘shaking hands all day, every day.’ The 79-year-old President has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), she said. However, White House physician Sean Barbarella issued a memo stating that he is in ‘excellent condition’.
She said Trump ‘noted mild swelling in his lower legs’ and tests found no evidence of deep vein thrombosis. There were ‘no signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness’, she said.
Recently, Trump was seen with a bruise on his hand while meeting SOuther Korean president Lee Jae Myung.
Meanwhile, Mimmie Kwong, associate professor of vascular surgery at UC Davis Health, answering CVI-linked question in health centre’s blog said:
“CVI is a common condition which affects about one in three people in the US. The cases range from mild to severe.”
Speaking about the symptoms, she said that commonly, swelling is seen in the legs. Dr Kwong also warned about amputation.
“As the condition gets worse, swelling increases and skin changes are also visible, like thickening or inflammation and dryness. Unhealing wounds could also appear in the legs, when the disease worsens, and if it gets further worse, it could lead to amputation.”
Amidst the speculations over Trump’s health condition, US Vice President JD Vance has expressed readiness to take over as President of the US in case a ‘terrible tragedy’ takes place. However, he said that the President was in great health and will be able to serve the remainder of his term. “And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” the 41-year-old said.
