The Rash on Donald Trump's Neck Has Already Caused Plenty of Speculation

Because he is 79 years old and not always forthcoming about it, President Trump's health has been a subject of fascination for his entire second term in the White House. There has been speculation that he had a stroke, and reporting that he takes an astonishing amount of aspirin every day because he wants thin blood, which is part of the reason his hands seem to bruise so frequently.

On March 2, though, some noticed what looked like a bright red skin rash popping up on Trump's neck underneath his shirt collar. Following the appearance of the rash, people began speculating about it almost immediately. Here's what we know.

We can't know for sure, but CNN has reported that his personal physician says that the rash is the result of a "preventative skin treatment."

“President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment,” Dr. Sean Barbabella explained. “The President is using the treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.”

What's less clear is why Trump might have needed the skin treatment, or whether this rash is an expected reaction to it. Typically, skin treatments are not the reason you have a rash, but we don't know any of the specifics here.

Barbabella has been maintaining for months that Trump is healthy, and we have no concrete evidence that suggests he's deteriorating, but given his age, there has been plenty of speculation about it.

The frequent bruising on the back of his hands has been photographed on more than one occasion, and there have also been instances where he appeared to slur his words or fall asleep in public. None of this is definitive evidence that Trump is unfit to be in office, but it has called attention to his age and to the fact that he is slated to be in office for almost three more years.

This comes after plenty of concern that, by the end of his term in office, President Joe Biden's health was beginning to fade and he was no longer able to keep up with the demands of the job. Trump is even older than Biden was at the same point in his term, which seems like all the justification you might need to speculate about the state of his health.

For now, though, there's not much that can be done about it. Trump and those around him insist that the president remains healthy, and there's no inconvertible evidence to the contrary. We know that the president has a rash, and it's possible that it could be exactly what his doctor says it is.

Because Trump has not always been the most reliably truthful person, though, it's also possible that it's something else. We may eventually know for sure, but as of right now, there's no way to say definitively either way.