Clues everyone’s missed that reveal worrying picture of Trump’s health: The mysterious bruising, ‘stroke theory’ and tie clue… and the most outrageous claim of all revealed by TOM LEONARD

Donald Trump’s press conference on Tuesday was more eagerly awaited than most. Following an extended break over the US Labour Day holiday weekend, speculation about the state of his health had been running wild on social media – with many convinced that his absence from the public eye was a sure sign that the 79-year-old Commander in Chief was suffering from severe health problems.

Indeed, by Saturday 200,000 posts on X featured hashtags stating that Mr Trump had actually died.

Such tweets could well have been motivated by a good dollop of wishful thinking, of course. Mr Trump is nothing if not a polarising president and millions of Americans can’t wait to see the back of him.

But he came out fighting when he hosted his press conference at the Oval Office, describing the conspiracy theory as ‘pretty serious stuff’ but dismissing it as ‘fake news’ while insisting he was ‘very active over the weekend’.

But his appearance will do little to stop gossip about his various alleged health problems. Not only is he the oldest man ever to take the oath of office, but has a terrible diet dominated by burgers and fizzy drinks.

As a result, the President has inevitably faced questions over his mental and physical fitness. When, back in February, eagle-eyed Trump-watchers first spotted a large bruise on his right hand, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was quick to silence the speculation.

That’s what comes of ‘shaking hands all day every day’, she said – despite the contusion remaining clearly visible under heavy makeup.

While some seemed to be satisfied with this explanation, others are convinced the White House is lying about Mr Trump’s health and that the US media, which complacently – critics would say shamefully – failed to report that Joe Biden was mentally and physically unfit to be president, may be about to make the same mistake once again.

On Monday, former Biden administration aide Meghan Hays accused the Trump administration of not being ‘transparent’ about the President’s absence from public events in recent days.

But Team Trump is having none of it. A White House doctor who examined the President in February declared him ‘fully fit’ after a comprehensive physical that included a perfect score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which is designed to detect mild brain impairment.

But in July – just five months later – the White House said Mr Trump had been diagnosed with a vascular disorder called chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which is when leg veins are damaged and struggle to send blood to the heart. His doctor described it as being ‘benign and common’. The announcement followed growing discussion over visible swelling in his legs and bruising on his hands.

White House doctor Sean Barbabella insisted the bruising was ‘consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking’, as well as a common side-effect of ‘aspirin therapy’ – which Mr Trump is taking for cardiovascular treatment.

But critics were not convinced, pointing out that the bruising was also visible on his left hand – which Mr Trump didn’t use for handshakes. As for aspirin therapy, they said, it is usually prescribed for those with heart disease or at high risk of it to thin the blood and prevent clots.

Given that eight US presidents have died in office – while others, such as Ronald Reagan, have developed illnesses such as Alzheimer’s that were allegedly covered up by White House doctors – critics have been demanding to know why there hasn’t been more scrutiny of Mr Trump’s ailments.

The latest burst of theorising started on August 22 when Mr Trump – normally so fastidious about wearing a tie – gave a triumphalist Oval Office press conference wearing an untidy-looking open-necked shirt and making a determined effort to cover his right hand.

Three days later, on Monday last week, a photograph of Mr Trump’s right hand – showing a prominent, dark bruise – during his Oval Office meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung went viral. Ditto a photo showing his bulging ankles.

The following day, he held a long cabinet meeting and then took questions from the Press. He appeared to be doing his best to hide the bruising that is regularly appearing on his hands.

If he was trying to allay fears about his health, then he would have done well not to then entirely drop out of sight, by failing to make any public appearances for the rest of last week – very odd behaviour for a man who famously hogs the limelight.

Vice President JD Vance was talking to the Press but, last Thursday, in an interview with USA Today, he fuelled the speculation by saying he was ready to be President (while insisting Trump was in ‘incredibly’ good health). ‘I’ve gotten a lot of good on-the-job training over the last 200 days,’ Mr Vance boasted.

By Saturday, Google searches involving the terms ‘is Trump dead’ and ‘Trump dead’ were among the most popular queries on the search engine. Likewise, ‘Where is Donald Trump’ was trending on X, while the Governor of Illinois, prominent Democrat JB Pritzker, was stirring the pot by demanding the White House show ‘proof of life’.

On Saturday, footage finally emerged of Mr Trump leaving the White House apparently bound for a golf course in Virginia with his granddaughter Kai.

Over the same weekend, he – or someone operating his account – put out a flurry of messages on his social media outlet Truth Social. In one he addressed his health, writing: ‘NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.’

But Mr Trump did little to reassure sceptics when he then posted a photo of himself playing golf with a former football coach – a photo taken a week earlier.

On Monday, as unverified claims swirled online that Melania Trump was last week spotted visiting the capital’s Walter Reed military hospital, a tired-looking Mr Trump was photographed heading to his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. The snap, showing him with his mouth hanging open – which suggests all may not be well – has to date been viewed 17million times on X.

The Press corps were kept 100 yards from him so there was none of the usual banter with journalists, when the President takes the opportunity to sound off about the latest international developments.

Meanwhile, online sleuths have flagged up other details about Mr Trump that they say show cause for concern. Adam Cochran, a cryptocurrency investor, garnered considerable attention on X for suggesting the President had suffered several mini-strokes (known as Transient Ischemic Attacks or TIAs). If this were true, it would explain why, in video footage, he has been seen dragging his right foot.

Mr Cochran said Mr Trump had recently displayed other symptoms of mini-strokes, including facial drooping and having difficulty walking in a straight line – something he appeared to do when negotiating the red carpet to greet Vladimir Putin in Alaska this month.

The crypto currency investor also claimed that heart specialists told him daily aspirin is not a preventative medicine but a treatment for an existing condition. As aspirin can be prescribed for those who have suffered mini-strokes, this gave credence to that theory.

If the President really is less healthy than he’s letting on, doctors will hardly be surprised. On the exercise front, Trump appears to do nothing but play golf and even then he is often transported around the course in a golf buggy, while his poor diet is notorious.

Experts say fast food can worsen CVI symptoms and causes weight gain, fluid retention and inflammation, all of which increase venous pressure and hinder circulation.

Mimmie Kwong, associate professor of vascular surgery at the University of California, said that, in the worst cases, CVI sufferers can develop non-healing wounds in the legs that require amputation.

The White House insists the President’s medical team found ‘no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease’. But some coronary specialists believe he is suffering from heart disease.

In 2018, cardiologist Arash Bereliani predicted that the ‘borderline obese’ politician had a ‘relatively high’ chance of having a heart attack in three to five years.

If Mr Trump really is as healthy as he claims, say some, he only has himself to blame if his fellow Americans don’t choose to believe him. Critics point to a history of evasion and wild over-optimism regarding Mr Trump’s health.

His first-term presidential doctor, Ronny Jackson, for instance, outrageously predicted he might live to 200 – while he kept secret the reason for a 2019 visit to Walter Reed hospital for a colonoscopy because he was embarrassed.

Now sceptics suspect the White House is keeping a far more serious secret.