Jake Tapper publicly challenged the White House’s explanation for President Trump’s recent hand bruising, saying officials are not telling the full story. Tapper and others — including Republican commentator Alyssa Farrah Griffin and former adviser David Axelrod — urged clearer medical disclosure, citing questions about an MRI and recurring explanations that attribute bruises to handshakes and aspirin. Tapper, who co‑wrote Original Sin, said the pattern of bruising does not match ordinary handshaking and called for greater transparency.
Jake Tapper Says White House Is Withholding Full Details About Trump’s Health
Tapper led a panel on The Lead pointing out flaws in Karoline Leavitt's explanation for Trump's bandages and bruises. / CNN
Veteran CNN anchor Jake Tapper publicly challenged the White House’s account of President Donald Trump’s recent hand bruising, saying on air that officials are not being fully forthcoming about the president’s health.
Tapper reacted after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a terse explanation at a briefing: she suggested the bruises and bandaging were the likely result of frequent handshakes and an aspirin regimen that can increase bruising. Leavitt, 28, made the remarks while fielding questions from The Daily Beast’s Farrah Tomazin about visible bruising and Trump’s assertion that he has passed three cognitive tests.
The press secretary told the Daily Beast that Trump gained his bruises because he shakes so many hands, but the panel felt the truth was being hidden. / CNN
Tapper said he found that explanation unconvincing. “There is something going on with his health that they’re not telling us,” he said on CNN’s The Lead, adding that he had not previously commented on the 79‑year‑old president’s condition but that the pattern of bruising “doesn’t ring true.” He noted that other presidents who shake hands regularly have not shown similar marks.
“First of all, we haven’t seen bruising like this on the hands of other presidents who also presumably shake a lot of hands, or senators.” — Jake Tapper
Tapper also reminded viewers that the White House previously offered handshaking as an explanation for similar bruising in July, although Trump has publicly said he does not favor handshakes as a greeting. The Daily Beast has reported for months on signs of frailty in the president; questions now include whether Trump underwent an MRI and what those results show.
Trump has been spotted with bruising, adhesives, and make-up on his right hand for months, alongside raising concern after admitting to undergoing an MRI. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Republican commentator Alyssa Farrah Griffin expressed similar skepticism and urged the administration to provide clearer medical disclosure. “These questions are going to continue to dog him,” she said, warning that without transparent answers “rumors and speculation must take on a life of their own.”
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod likewise called for candor, comparing the current secrecy to past disputes over President Joe Biden’s fitness and saying, “How about the truth? How about facts? That would be good.”
Tapper said that Biden's own health issues were 'instructive' in Trump's case, after a small group hid the reality of Biden's health from the public while he was in office. / Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Tapper’s comments come after he co‑authored the book Original Sin with Alex Thompson earlier this year, which alleges that a small circle within the White House knew about concerns over President Biden’s fitness but did not disclose them publicly. The book contains pointed language about decisions made to keep a candidate’s condition from voters.
As scrutiny grows, journalists, commentators, and some members of the public are pressing for a clearer medical account of the president’s health so that speculation does not dominate the conversation.
