President Donald Trump, 79, slathered his bruised right hand in makeup to boast to a group of the nation’s finest young athletes.
In his first on-camera appearance since Saturday, the geriatric president greeted seven NCAA Collegiate National Champion teams in the State Dining Room on Tuesday and congratulated them on their athletic achievements.
At the event, his right hand was covered in a glossy sheen of beige makeup that boldly contrasted with his natural skin tone.
Throughout his 15-minute and 48-second speech, Trump rambled about how he only likes states that he won, how much he loved sports and was “so helped in my life” by them, and boasted about how the golf legend Arnold Palmer “was a great friend of mine.”
“You have an administration that’s fighting just as hard for you as you fight for our country, and you have fought for our country, so I want to congratulate you,” Trump said to the room of student athletes.
“I know what it is to win in sports, and win in life,” he added. “But to win in sports is, uh, I always say it’s a microcosm of life.”
Aside from his love of golf, the elderly president was a keen tennis player back in the day.
“Winning in tennis, that’s a tough thing to do,” he said while addressing the NCAA Women’s Tennis champions, the Georgia Bulldogs. “I played tennis a little bit. Not quite at that level. Not quite.”
“And all I can say is, go Bulldogs. It’s a great state. I love that state,” Trump added. “I did very well there, too, in the election. You know, I only like the states that I win, so it’s one of those.”
Reached for comment on the president’s foundation-covered hand, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast in a frequently recycled statement: “President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history. The President 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. President Trump’s commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
Throughout the second Trump administration, the White House has often attributed the president’s chronically bruised right hand to “frequent handshaking,” though his non-dominant left hand—his “good” hand—has also at times appeared bruised.
The Daily Beast has extensively covered the president’s declining mental and physical health, whether it’s his bulging cankles, neck rash, slurred speech, or public sleeping fits.
The president had not appeared on camera since his executive order signing featuring Joe Rogan on Saturday. However, the president was busy behind the scenes with policy meetings and executive order signings, according to his schedule.
On Monday morning, he participated in a phone call with PBS News, telling White House correspondent Liz Landers that “lots of bombs start going off” if the ceasefire with Iran expired on Tuesday.
He announced in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that the U.S. would give the Middle Eastern country an indefinite ceasefire until they “come up with a unified proposal.”
