Former US President Donald Trump recently made headlines after he was seen suffering from lesions on his hands. The same was observed when he waved while leaving Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City.
WARNING: This article refers to sexually transmitted diseases. Reader discretion is advised.
The images, which have now gone viral, reveal red, ulcer-like spots on Donald Trump's right hand, spread across his thumb, index finger and palm, and have gained enough attention on social media platforms, such as X.
Netizens are speculating various things, from syphilis (STD), burns, herpes, shingles, blisters, among others, once again raising controversy about the health condition of Donald Trump.
In this regard, User The Internet user points out that the marks on Donald Trump's hand are burn marks resulting from eating McNuggets (chicken nuggets from McDonald's).
'Are any of you a dermatologist?': Donald Trump's hand lesions spark funny reactions online
Donald Trump on Wednesday waved to his fans as he left Trump Tower and on his way to federal court in New York to appear in the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, according to Midas Touch. However, he was caught with red lesions on his hands, sparking wild theories online.
While some people think these are just burn marks from food, others think they are just frostbite from his recent campaign trip in Iowa.
Speculation also suggests that Donald Trump's hand lesions could be red ink from top-secret documents, or that he is trying to use his hand on electronic devices such as a curling iron, thus hurting himself.
Words like herpes, shingles and warts were also thrown around, while many mocked the size of Trump's hand. However, it was syphilis that gained the most traction, with most people speculating that the former president was suffering from a sexually transmitted disease. Here are some wild reactions from X with #syphilis being the most popular hashtag.
According to Times Now News, the syphilis theory is not new. Earlier in February 2017, the New Republic published an article titled “A Medical Theory of Donald Trump’s Behavior.”
Author Dr. Steven Beutler, an expert in infectious diseases for more than 30 years, suggested that Trump may be suffering from “neurosyphilis,” as evidenced by his symptoms including “psychological problems and personality changes.”
He also explained how neurosyphilis is discovered one to three decades after the initial infection (syphilis) and shows symptoms such as “neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.”
Notably, he admitted that he could not “of course make this diagnosis remotely”, and suggested that he may have been exposed to syphilis in the 1980s, which later led to neurosyphilis.
Dr. Beutler even referred to Trump's “own accounts of his past sexual life,” and spoke of a particular 1997 interview in which the businessman and politician stated that he was “lucky in terms of this whole world,” insinuating that he had relationships with people from all over the world. .
Meanwhile, Democratic political consultant James Carville told Politicon that Trump may be suffering from secondary syphilis on Wednesday. It's the second stage of syphilis when left untreated and can lead to a rash on the “palms and soles of the feet,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
So far, there is no concrete evidence that the 77-year-old Trump has suffered from syphilis in his lifetime.