What to Know
People are once again talking about President Donald Trump’s apparent hand makeup, which he has seemingly used to cover bruising on his hand. In a viral video shared via TikTok, a content creator who says he has experience working with geriatric patients asserted that the bruising could be caused by injections of Kisunla, a drug used to treat early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove from California also took to social media to make similar claims.
You might recall how, earlier this year, people started talking about how something might be “seriously wrong” with the president due to his obvious hand makeup. At the time, Trump’s doctor and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed people’s concerns about the hand bruising. But some people didn’t believe those explanations, and they continue to share their own theories.
In a viral video, a physical therapist explained his theory.
TikTok user @epistemiccrisis started his viral video with, “This dementia patient [Trump] keeps having bruising on this hand because he’s most likely getting a monthly infusion of a drug called Kisunla.” The creator explained that he’s not a doctor, but a physical therapist who has a doctorate in his field. He has also worked in home healthcare treating geriatric patients for 14 years.
“Kinsunla is a monoclonal antibody drug that is used for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” the creator said. “It targets the amyloid plaques that want to form on the surface of the brain and slows the progression of the disease.”
@epistemiccrisis #greenscreen #maga #trump #politics #health ♬ original sound – Epistemic
According to the TikToker, this might explain why Trump regularly appears to have a bruised hand, sometimes covered with makeup or bandaids. Previously, the same content creator asserted that he thinks Trump just has a few months left to live. He reiterated the same claims in this video.
Previously, Snopes called the creator’s claim “unfounded,” as the creator is not a medical doctor. “The claim that Trump had six to eight months left to live wasn’t based on a clinical diagnosis or on the testimony of a physician familiar with the president’s medical status,” Snopes determined previously.
A California Democrat shared a similar theory.
The TikTok creator is far from the only person who thinks Trump is showing obvious signs of aging (though Trump has insisted that he is currently doing well). Rep. Kamlager-Dove took to social media to explain why she’s “curious” about Trump’s hand bruising on December 4.
In a Threads post, she wrote, “The Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi:- Is administered through an infusion (for example, through the hand) – Can cause swelling, bleeding, or fluid leakage in the brain, requiring regular MRIs – Can cause tiredness. Curious. 🤔”
Previously, Trump’s doctor said the hand bruising came ‘from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.’
According to the Independent, the president’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, said Trump’s hand bruising is totally normal. “This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen,” the doctor said, per the news outlet. “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.”
Leavitt took it a step further and said that Trump shakes more hands “than any other president in history.” Of course, people were skeptical of this claim.
