It wasn’t just an awkward handshake between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron that caught the public’s attention when the two leaders met on Monday.
A large bruise covered up with makeup on Trump’s right hand featured prominently in several photos taken at the Oval Office, sending social media abuzz with speculation.
A close-up photo showed makeup piled on top of discoloration on the president’s hand.
X users chimed in with their own guesses on what could have caused the bruise. Some suggested that it was an IV bruise, while others mused that it was triggered by the use of blood thinners.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The bruise was spotted just minutes after Trump and Macron shared a lengthy, awkward handshake as they sat in front of reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump initiated the six-second power struggle by grabbing Macron’s arm after jokingly saying that the French president presented a deal on paper that was different from what they had discussed verbally.
“We came out and he started speaking the French deal,” Trump said. “We didn’t have an interpreter and he was going on and on and on, and I was just nodding ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes. And [Macron] really sold me out because I got back the next day and I read the papers, and I said, ‘That’s not what we said!’”
After the handshake, Macron gave Trump a pat on his right knee.
The meeting was rife with awkward moments. In another instance, Macron fact-checked Trump to his face after the American president claimed that Europe was “loaning” money to Ukraine.
Macron quickly touched Trump’s arm and jumped in to set the record straight: “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid 60 percent of the total effort, and it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantee, grants, and we provided real money, to be clear.”
Trump appeared to yield by throwing his hand up, but kept smirking as Macron spoke.
