Donald Trump‘s neck was marked by a painful-looking red rash as he handed out Medals of Honor to veterans at the White House on Monday, days after the US went to war with Iran.
The skin behind his right ear appeared scabbed and flaking, visible to cameras as he moved along the line of honorees.
The rash was immediately noticed as social media users speculated whether it was connected to a specific condition or diagnosis. ‘Strange marks on Trump’s neck,’ said one X user.
Another said it looked like a ‘nasty’ outbreak of shingles, while a third claimed it was a bad reaction to cleaning products on his clothing: ‘He is getting his dry cleaning done on his flights and wearing his suits too soon.’
In a statement Trump’s doctor Sean Barbabella told CBS News: ‘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. The President is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.’
He did not say what condition the cream was treating.
Discoloration in the same area of his neck was spotted in photos of Trump during strikes on Iran at his makeshift Situation Room at Mar-a-Lago, as well as at the State of the Union address last week.
The President., 79, has come under increasing scrutiny after he revealed last year that he easily bruises and bleeds, with photos often showing a blob of makeup covering the back of his hands. Trump attributes bruising and cuts to a high aspirin dose and the relentless handshaking that comes with the job.
He was diagnosed last summer with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition caused by damaged leg veins that impairs blood flow back to the heart and can produce swelling in the legs and ankles.
Donald Trump’s neck was plagued by a painful-looking red rash as he attended a medals ceremony on Monday following a grueling 48 hours as the US went to war with Iran
The skin behind the President’s right ear appeared to be scabbed and flaking as he handed awarded the Medal of Honor to veterans at the White House
Discoloration in the same area of his neck was spotted in photos of Trump during strikes on Iran at his makeshift Situation Room at Mar-a-Lago
Red skin is noticeable on the same spot during Trump’s State of the Union address last Tuesday
Trump has also faced questions about his energy levels after he has been spotted with his eyes closed during meetings.
‘They’re boring as hell,’ Trump told New York magazine in January.
‘I’m going around a room, and I’ve got 28 guys − the last one was three and a half hours,’ Trump said of his cabinet meetings.
‘I have to sit back and listen, and I move my hand so that people will know I’m listening. I’m hearing every word, and I can’t wait to get out.’
Some aides say they have to raise their voices in meetings, citing his declining hearing.
Trump is the oldest person ever to assume the office of the presidency. The record he set in 2016 was broken by Joe Biden in 2020 and then broken yet again when Trump won a second, non-consecutive term in 2024.
Biden was 82 when he left office last January; Trump will be 82 years and seven months old if he serves through January 2029.
Biden received a flood of criticism over his health and declining mental acuity during his four years in office. There was widespread reporting on concerns even within his own team over whether he was fit to continue leading the country.
: A bruise can be seen on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump’s left hand during a signing ceremony for the ‘Board of Peace’ at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland
A bruise on a hand of U.S. President Donald Trump is seen during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 25
The left foot and swollen of President Donald Trump are pictured as he sits with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Biden announced in May 2025, just four months after leaving office, that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
In addition to the visible bruising, Trump also had a brief stint wearing compression socks for his swelled ankles that he stopped wearing because he didn’t like them.
Trump underwent an MRI scan late last year at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The test sparked speculation about his brain health, though his doctor, Barbabella, described it as a ‘perfectly normal’ scan focused on his heart and abdomen.
Trump later said he regretted the checkup, telling the Wall Street Journal in January that it had only fueled speculation about his health.
‘In retrospect, it’s too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition,’ he said.
‘I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong.’
Trump maintains a rigorous schedule on little sleep, something he says has always been the case. He still golfs frequently and travels around the world with little signs of slowing down.
