Donald Trump has shut down rumors concerning his health as part of a new interview in which he finally spoke out about the mysterious bruises on his hands.
The US President, 79, is the second-oldest person in history to be inaugurated to lead the country, and his health has been a talking point since the start of his second term.
Yet while Trump has always strongly maintained he is ‘by far the healthiest' President, particularly after he ‘aced a cognitive test’ last year, he did confess to not always following the advice given to him by health professionals.
In a notable line from his January 1 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump opened up about how age was beginning to catch up with him – and what exactly he was doing to slow it down.
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As per his own admission, he said the bruises on his hands were due to taking a high dose of aspirin to thin his blood, yet not at the dosage typically recommended by doctors.
"They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart," Trump told the outlet. "I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?"
He then went on to reveal that he takes four times the recommended dose of the anti-inflammatory medication, as he is ‘superstitious’.
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The president also revealed his skin has become far thinner in his advancing years and even recalled an incident in which Attorney General Pam Bondi had accidentally cut his hand during a high-five at the Republican National Conference in 2024, when her ring caught his fragile skin.
“The ring hit the back of my hand, and, yes, there was a slight little cut,” Trump told the outlet.
Yet the WSJ also claimed that it was not just a single occurrence, with several similar incidents having occurred because of Trump’s delicate skin.
It was the frequency of these incidents that prompted the president to begin wearing makeup on his hands to hide the bruises caused by firm handshakes in his day-to-day life.
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When asked why he decided to wear it, Trump remarked it’s in case he gets 'whacked again by someone'.
“I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on," he said. "Takes about 10 seconds.”
Trump’s own assessment aligns with the White House's comment when eagle-eyed members of the public first spotted the bruises, which said at the time: "President Trump has bruises on his hand because he’s constantly working and shaking hands all day every day. President Trump is a man of the people."
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White House physician Sean Barbarella also corroborated that there was nothing more sinister at play, as he told the press in July 2025 that the bruising was ‘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.’
Yet bruising wasn’t the only health concern Trump spoke about in his interview, as he also addressed reports that he had ‘fallen asleep’ in numerous cabinet meetings after being photographed with his eyes closed.
“I’ll just close [my eyes]. It’s very relaxing to me,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink.”
Yet despite resting his eyes, he categorically denied ever nodding off in a meeting.
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However, Trump did confess that his hearing isn’t quite what it used to be, as he joked with the WSJ reporter: "I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you. I can’t hear a word you’re saying."
Although he denied having trouble hearing most things, he did concede that he sometimes struggles to hear ‘when there’s a lot of people talking'.
He also addressed his lack of exercise – something he branded as ‘boring’, as he added: “To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours like some people do, that’s not for me.”
Topics: Donald Trump, Health, Politics
Phoebe Tonks