President Donald Trump’s hand makeup has found a new home — covering the mysterious rash that appeared on the side of his neck earlier this week.
Trump’s face appeared to strike a different shade during a meeting on Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, with the bright red rash that made national headlines the previous day seemingly covered up.
While Trump’s skin appeared clear — albeit a different tone — in photographs on Tuesday, just a day earlier, he was seen sporting what looked like a large, red rash and scabs on the right side of his neck, spreading from his ear to the back of his head.
White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella brushed off the irritation in a statement to The Independent Monday, saying: “President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment, prescribed by the White House Doctor.”
Trump’s doctor declined to say what the cream was attempting to prevent and why it was prescribed. He said he would be using the treatment for a week.
It was unlikely that Trump’s rash had fully gone away on Tuesday, as Barbabella noted the redness “is expected to last for a few weeks.”
The Independent has contacted the White House seeking clarification about the cream, why it was prescribed and Trump’s use of makeup to conceal the rash.
MSNow Medical Analyst Dr. Vin Gupta hypothesized on X that Trump’s rash could be “pre-cancerous” and slammed the White House for being secretive about the skin condition’s cause.
“The White House medical team didn’t know [Trump] got a CT scan. They claimed it was a MRI for weeks,” Gupta wrote, referencing a “MRI” Trump said he had in October as part of a “regular checkup.”
“Now instead of acknowledging he might have a pre-cancerous skin condition, they dance around the issue. Trying to fool the public just makes it worse,” Gupta added.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hit out at those speculating over the president’s heath.
“Any so-called medical professionals engaging in armchair diagnosis or false speculation for political purposes are clearly breaking the Hippocratic Oath they’ve sworn to,” she said. “These are false and slanderous allegations from ‘doctors’ who are unethically speculating on health matters they have no insight into.”
As Trump was photographed during a Medal of Honor ceremony on Monday with the rash on his neck, he was also seen with a thick layer of makeup on his right hand, covering up bruising.
The mysterious neck rash only adds to the mounting scrutiny Trump has faced over his physical health and mental acuity after becoming the oldest president to be sworn into office in January 2025.
Questions have swirled surrounding the president’s health ever since he was first photographed with bruised hands and swollen ankles.
White House officials tried to ease concerns by blaming the hand bruises on “frequent handshaking.” However, Trump, 79, told The Wall Street Journal in January that the bruises come from taking a higher dose of aspirin than doctors recommend, which he has done for years.
The president also said that he applies makeup to his hand after he gets “whacked again by someone” and that “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.”
Trump’s cognitive health has also been a topic of concern during his second term. The president has been filmed with his eyes shut during Cabinet meetings and in the Oval Office — but has said photographers just take a photo of him when his eyes are closed.
Last July, White House officials announced that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency — which was to blame for his swollen ankles.
The condition affects millions of Americans and is not a serious health threat. It occurs when a person’s leg veins don’t allow blood to flow back up to the heart.
