Trump, 79, Struggles to Fit Cankles Under Weirdly Tiny Desk
The president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency last year.
President Donald Trump, 79, appeared to grimace while lowering himself to a desk on Friday.
Trump, who is the oldest person to take the presidential oath of office, was honoring the Navy football team with the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy following their win against the Army last December. During the ceremony, he also signed an executive order preserving the broadcast time slot for the Army vs. Navy game.
President Donald Trump struggled to lower himself to his desk to sign an executive order declaring an exclusive television broadcast window for the annual Army-Navy football game on March 20, 2026.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
As he went to sit down at a desk to sign the executive order, Trump seemed to jut his leg out for support, bending it at an awkward angle. The president gripped the sides of the desk to get himself down. The Daily Beast reached out to the White House for an update about the president’s health.
Observers have expressed concern about the president’s health in recent months as his cankles have been on full display at numerous important meetings. His legs appeared to be bulging as he sat with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office on Thursday.
President Donald Trump meets with the Colombian Presiden Gustavo Petro during an official meeting at the Oval office in Washington D.C, on Feb. 3, 2026.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Anadolu via Getty Images
Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency last year, which means the veins in his legs are damaged or weak, making it difficult for blood to return to the heart. This diagnosis, along with the president’s persistent hand bruise, have fueled speculation about his well-being.
Despite his own arduous journey to get in his seat, Trump bizarrely tried to turn the attention back to former President Joe Biden’s health. As he put his signature on the executive order, Trump noted that he didn’t use an autopen, an accusation he leveled against Biden numerous times.
Joe Biden, pictured signing documents before leaving office, has faced accusations of overusing an autopen.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“This is not an autopen,” Trump joked to the Navy football team. “Imagine taking it and saying, ‘Would you please have this signed?’ Somehow, I don’t know how they got by that. It didn’t work.”
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Trump has tried to get charges brought against Biden over this alleged use of an autopen. Trump has claimed the device was used by Biden’s advisers to cover up his cognitive decline, suggesting that the former president didn’t know what he was signing. However, the DOJ quietly ended its investigation into the autopen in early March because it was unable to build a case against Biden.
Trump’s left hand shows severe bruising, blowing up the White House’s assertion that the bruising is caused by handshaking.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump insisted that he is the “healthiest” president ever on Tuesday, citing the opinion of disgraced former White House physician Ronny Jackson.
“I’ll never forget, they said, ‘Who’s the healthiest president?’” Trump bragged. “Because he covered Obama. He covered some others—I don’t want to say who. And Trump. He said, ‘By far Trump. There’s nobody even close.’”
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