Does Trump Have a Hole in One of His Hands? Details on the Speculation

2025 is nearly over, and politics watchers have spent a startling amount of time focused on President Donald Trump's hands. Over the course of the year, many on social media have noted various occasions where Trump's hands appear to be bruised, swollen, or discolored, and many have taken those photos as evidence that Trump is unwell in some way that he has not disclosed to the public.

The latest chapter in that unfolding saga is a series of recent pictures that appear to suggest that Trump has a hole in his hand. Here's what we know about whether that particular bit of speculation is true.

In photos from Dec. 28, Trump appears to have a hole in his left hand that's surrounded by bruising. While we obviously don't know what caused this bruising, the most common theory circulating online is that Trump is receiving something in an IV in that hand and is not disclosing it to the public. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, has continued to claim that the bruising and discoloration on Trump's hands is the result of lots of handshakes.

“President Trump is a man of the people, and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history. His commitment is unwavering, and he proves that every single day,” she told The Daily Beast.

Of course, that doesn't explain the appearance of a hole, although it's theoretically possible that it's not a hole, and is simply a crag in his hand that was caused by old age.

Part of the reason there's been so much attention on Trump's hands is that it seems highly possible that he and his team are hiding details about his health from the public. We do know that he was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency earlier in the year, which might explain some of the swelling he's appeared to have not just in his hands but throughout his body.

There are plenty of people, though, who think there might be other things going on with Trump that we are not aware of. Unfortunately, though, all those people can do is speculate about Trump's health without anything close to a full picture. While speculating about the health of celebrities can sometimes be an invasion of privacy, as the president, Trump's obligation is to offer full disclosure of his health to the public.

Trump's health affects the way the entire government can operate, and if he is in any way compromised, that's something that the American people deserve to know. Of course, he has continued to appear in public and deliver speeches, so he's not fully incapacitated. What's less clear, though, is whether there are conditions of any kind that he's hiding, or whether the public is just overreacting to a lack of information.