Donald Trump is a political jester without the costume, and social media users are shredding him for making a fool of himself. The 79-year-old had all eyes locked on him as he slurred and rambled his way through a disastrous speech in front of congressional Republicans at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Jan. 6.
Now, onlookers have an endless well of viral snippets to mock Trump. Instead of harping over his word salad, critics deployed their ruthless sense of humor on zoomed-in images highlighting the one thing his heavy-handed makeup can’t cover up: his hands.
Snapshots of him making goofy facial expressions with his hands flailing in the air unintentionally drew eyes to his ill-fitting button-up shirt, which he wore under a signature blue suit paired with a red tie.
Trump is mocking female athletes during his cringeworthy comedy bit in the photos. When folks took a closer look, they noticed that, at times, his hands were swimming in the cuffs, making it almost impossible to spot his wrists.
“I think his hands are getting smaller. They just look so small in those clownishly large cuffs,” an IG Threads user commented on a repost of the image. Another person quipped, “Look at his tiny, pale purple little hands. They look as fragile as a baby’s.” While someone else said, “Little hands Trump.”
It didn’t stop there as other critics zoomed in further. One person shared, “The fingers look puffy. Under eyes, hands and ankles are the places to check for fluid buildup with poor circulation. If they can’t keep the fluid off him, that’s bad for his heart and lungs.”
Another critic sharing that similar line of thought remarked, “Are his nails clubbing? If they are, club baby club.” But the observations don’t end there.
“His palms are purple? I’ve never seen someone with purple palms until now,” a third eagle-eyed commenter wrote. According to a fourth individual, “His right hand appears to be decomposing in real time.”
Others were left pondering about Trump’s ability to handle daily tasks like putting clothes on by himself. Someone wrote, “I GOTTA wonder….do attendants have to dress him in the morning?Can Trump dress himself?”
Trump’s hands have been a hot topic for months, with countless people taking note of the constant bruising and swelling that are often observed.
photos from Trump’s speech to House Republicans
(Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty) pic.twitter.com/HjfsZ2M5YQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 6, 2026
The administration claimed the discoloration was a result of constantly greeting people. As for the bloated look of his hands, they haven’t offered much of an explanation, not even a suggestion that his chronic venous insufficiency, a vein condition that affects circulation, is to blame.
White House physician Sean Barbarella claimed the bruising is “consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen,” in a July memo.
In a recently published Wall Street Journal interview, Trump spoke about his hands being speckled with concealer. “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on,” he told the outlet, “takes about 10 seconds.” He also admitted to taking larger does of aspirin to prevent “thick blood” from “pouring through my heart.”
Donald Trump’s hand looks particularly bad this evening. pic.twitter.com/UzFn1biDyK
— Paul Lackey (@holliemaea) January 1, 2026
