About
Donald Trump’s Hand Makeup and Death Speculation refers to viral internet discourse about August 2025 photos of U.S. President Donald Trump’s hand, which appeared to have a layer of foundation on it, seemingly covering up a health issue like bruising. The photos inspired speculation and conspiracy theories about President Trump’s lifespan, as many believed that he was near death or had a serious health issue due to the hand makeup look. Memes and viral posts about Donald Trump’s hand makeup surfaced en masse on Twitter / X and Reddit, among other social media sites, in late August 2025 as the story garnered attention online.
Origin
On August 22nd, 2025, X user @atrupar tweeted two photos of U.S. President Donald Trump’s right hand, showing what appeared to be a layer of foundation applied beneath his knuckles. The photos were taken by Getty Images on that day. Over three days, the tweet received over 54.9 million views and 33,000 likes.
In February 2025, photos and reports from outlets like Newsweek documented bruising on President Trump’s hand, located where the rumored foundation was seen months later.
Notably, Trump was publicly diagnosed with venous insufficiency in July 2025, following concerns over his bruised hand and swollen ankles.
Spread
On August 22nd, 2025, multiple tweets using the photos of President Donald Trump’s Hand Makeup surfaced, like one from X user @Mollyploofkins, whose post gained over 111.5 million views and 11,000 likes in three days.
Redditor ufosloth shared an article from the Daily Beast about Trump’s apparent hand makeup to the /r/politics subreddit on August 22nd, gaining over 23,000 likes in three days. The top comment from Redditor eemercerr read, “Is he covering his MS-13 tattoos?” (a reference to the story of the deportation of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia), which received over 5,400 upvotes in three days.
That same day, X user @upblissed quote-tweeted @Mollyploofkins’ post, writing, “When old ppl start getting those random hand injuries #ClockIsTicking.” The post gained over 155,000 likes in three days.
Later on August 22nd, X user @esjesjesj quote-tweeted the same post, writing, “February 3rd, 2026,” gaining over 445,000 likes in three days.
On August 23rd, 2025, X user @idkwahatimdoing quote-tweeted the same post, writing, “As a nursing student, I can confirm this is great news,” receiving roughly 518,000 likes in two days.
Also on August 23rd, TikToker @harryjsisson shared a video on the topic of President Trump’s hand and its bruising, gaining over 72,300 likes in two days.
@harryjsisson Interesting… what do you think is going on here??? 08/23
♬ original sound – Harry
Various Examples
