President Donald Trump disclosed in an exclusive Wall Street Journal interview that his visible hand bruises stem from taking a higher dose of aspirin than his doctors recommend. The 79-year-old president, who has long shown bruising on the back of his right hand, attributed the condition to his personal medication regimen: “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” he said. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart.”
Trump indicated he routinely consumes 325 milligrams of aspirin daily—a dose significantly higher than the Mayo Clinic’s recommended range of 75 to 100 milligrams for cardiovascular prevention. He stated the larger dosage has been a long-standing practice: “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously attributed the hand bruises to frequent hand-shaking, claiming they resulted from “minor soft tissue irritation” consistent with his public interactions. However, Trump’s interview offered a direct medical explanation for the persistent bruising, emphasizing his adherence to his own health protocol despite concerns raised by his physician and staff.
Trump’s White House team confirmed he undergoes regular medical evaluations, including echocardiograms that showed “normal cardiac structure and function” with no signs of heart failure or systemic illness. Leavitt stated all results remained within normal limits after a “comprehensive” assessment of the president’s recent symptoms, though she acknowledged the bruising aligned with both hand-shaking patterns and aspirin side effects.