# The current second Trump administration: a compendium of horrors **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774 "2024-11-06T09:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 109
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2162 "2025-08-26T23:55:37Z")
What’s the deal with the bruise? I have seen at least two different reports that mention that Trump has a large bruise on his right hand. I feel that the writers are trying to communicate something but I don’t now what it is. What’s the implication of having a bruise on your hand? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2163 "2025-08-27T00:01:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What’s the implication of having a bruise on your hand? He’s trying to one-up Gorbachev? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2164 "2025-08-27T00:08:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What’s the deal with the bruise? > > I have seen at least two different reports that mention that Trump has a large bruise on his right hand. Could he have gotten an IV without it getting leaked to the press? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2165 "2025-08-27T00:32:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What’s the implication of having a bruise on your hand? IME people who take blood thinners, notably Coumadin (generic warfarin), often have big red or even black splotches on their hands. They _are_ bruises, sort of, but they happen from the normal activities of life, like bumping your hand on something. Is this what y’all are talking about? [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTz5GxArX97u2_8KFk5Ix8rQy-bRWI8VcrGkQOhUvUUfQ&s=10) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTz5GxArX97u2_8KFk5Ix8rQy-bRWI8VcrGkQOhUvUUfQ&s=10) [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTXikBWz9PE8j4Ohk1IYbWxjN0gkmqrFVhuOMD9Ks-cnQ&s=10) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTXikBWz9PE8j4Ohk1IYbWxjN0gkmqrFVhuOMD9Ks-cnQ&s=10) * * * > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > He’s trying to one-up Gorbachev? Gorbachev had a birthmark, as I recall. BTW, I’d vote for Gorby over trump in a New York minute. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2166 "2025-08-27T02:23:09Z")
Yeah, pretty similar: > **[Donald Trump Reveals Bruised Hand Without Makeup amid Online Speculation...](https://people.com/trump-reveals-bruised-hand-without-makeup-amid-speculation-11797572)** > > Donald Trump's hand bruise was fully visible for the first time on Aug. 25, amid increased speculation about his health. The bruise, first seen in February, had been concealed by makeup for much of his second term in office ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2167 "2025-08-27T02:24:28Z")
Perhaps that’s the PIC where he’s mainlining the stupid pills? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2168 "2025-08-27T02:32:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What’s the implication of having a bruise on your hand? I’m no physician, but I don’t think there is, by itself, any implication of lower life expectancy or being unable to hold down a desk job. This is from a good medical web site: > **[Trump’s hand bruise renews attention to his health — and his heart](https://www.statnews.com/2025/08/26/trump-hand-bruise-chronic-venous-insufficiency/)** > > Images of President Trump’s bruised hand have renewed attention to his health in general and his cardiovascular health in particular. As mentioned, it could be due to the CVI he already admits to, although docs are disagreeing on whether this is likely. Another possibility is reaction to a NSAID drug like aspirin or ibuprofen. If I take either, I get a lot of bruising. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2169 "2025-08-27T02:42:23Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > As mentioned, it could be due to the CVI he already admits to, although docs are disagreeing on whether this is likely. Another possibility is reaction to a NSAID drug like aspirin or ibuprofen. If I take either, I get a lot of bruising. Yup. My father (twelve years Trump’s senior) has had those sorts of bruises on his hands and legs for years, due to being on blood-thinners. I suspect that part of the reason that those (and his swollen ankles) have gotten so much attention is that Trump’s critics see those as at odds with Trump’s and his sycophants’ insistence that he is incredibly, perfectly healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2170 "2025-08-27T02:53:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > They _are_ bruises, sort of, but they happen from the normal activities of life, like bumping your hand on something. This happens to me all the time, but usually just dime-sized. I’m always bumping my hands and arms on something. My PCP says it’s just something that happens as you age. But I saw a meme that had a circle drawn around Trump’s bruise, with a picture of Queen Elizabeth II with a circle around _her_ bruise. The meme said that the photo of the Queen was taken two days before she died. ETA: My last aunt was on Coumadin. We visited her almost two years ago, and I saw the bruising. I think she lasted another year, dying in her 90s. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2171 "2025-08-27T03:15:13Z")
Yeah. Leaky veins aren’t good news, but are hardly signs of impending doom either. Seems like an age-appropriate side effect to non-medical me. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2172 "2025-08-27T17:03:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I suspect that part of the reason that those (and his swollen ankles) have gotten so much attention is that Trump’s critics see those as at odds with Trump’s and his sycophants’ insistence that he is incredibly, perfectly healthy. That, and the “cover up” is just such a perfect example of their fundamental incompetence. I can understand the urge to hide it, Trump is incredibly vain, after all, but who looks at that splotch of whatever it is on his hand, and thinks, “Nailed It!”? I’ve never even used makeup in my life and I’m pretty sure I could do a better job hiding it. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2173 "2025-08-27T17:31:34Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Trump is incredibly vain, after all, but who looks at that splotch of whatever it is on his hand, and thinks, “Nailed It!”? I’ve never even used makeup in my life and I’m pretty sure I could do a better job hiding it. Remember, the person applying the makeup also has to cope with Trump’s ADHD. Trump won’t sit still long enough for them to do anything effective. > [@bordelond](#): > > Could he have gotten an IV without it getting leaked to the press? I don’t have a link handy but there was a recent video of Trump on the golf course where we could see a corresponding bruise on his left hand. So we at least know that the handshake excuse is an outright lie. I have a feeling that it is indeed from an IV and the reason it’s on both hands is because his right hand is no good for IV insertion any longer so they had to switch to the left. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Gorbachev had a birthmark, as I recall. [Did somebody say birthmarks](https://youtu.be/ZT2z0nrsQ8o?si=eg5RLCG-p0ckhhIx&t=101)? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2174 "2025-08-28T00:08:39Z")
[Trump says Democratic donor Soros and son should be charged with corruption, offers no evidence](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-says-democratic-donor-soros-son-should-be-charged-with-corruption-offers-2025-08-27/) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump said on Wednesday that billionaire financier and major Democratic donor George Soros and his son should be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act Conspiracy theorists [and antisemites](https://www.ajc.org/translatehate/puppet-master) often focus on 95 year old George Soros, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden. Some of the [back and forth is here](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-issues-threat-george-soros-2120117): > [@](#): > > **Billionaire Elon Musk, on X:** “High time action was taken against Soros directly.” > > **Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told _Newsweek_:** “Soros supporting progressive causes or liberal politicians, that’s a clearly protected First Amendment activity. It’s not criminal in any way whatsoever.” ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2175 "2025-08-28T01:28:06Z")
[New C.D.C. Director Resists Ouster as Other Officials Resign](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/health/cdc-monarez-kennedy-vaccines.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hk8.qeiV.DirqtROMtOwl&smid=url-share) > [@](#): > > The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is refusing to leave her post, despite demands from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that she quit or be fired . . . > > Mr. Kennedy, furious, summoned Dr. Monarez to a second meeting on Tuesday and accused her of “being a leaker,” . . . > > The four high-ranking agency officials who did resign are Dr. Debra Houry, the C.D.C.’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who ran the center that issues vaccine recommendations; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who oversaw the center that oversees vaccine safety; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, head of the office of public health data. Monarez was confirmed on July 29. So she managed just under three Scaramuccis, assuming they’ll lock her out of her office in the morning. P.S. She was confirmed on a party line vote, so should Democrats applaud this? Probably not, because they’ll now put in someone worse, but I wanted to raise the question. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2176 "2025-08-28T01:37:02Z")
> **[National Guard Given Trash Duty Because of Trump’s Own Cuts](https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-crimefighting-shock-troops-ordered-to-clean-up-trash-near-the-white-house/)** > > The president ordered the National Guard into the capital to address a “crime emergency.” > With the hell of war, > He’s come to grips. > Policing up the filter tips. > It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier. Courtesy of Tom Lehrer. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2177 "2025-08-30T00:49:37Z")
I missed this news story that came out on August 20: > **[Trump bought more than $100 million in bonds since January, filings show](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/trump-bought-bonds-companies-governments-rcna226024)** > > The purchases could let the president make money off companies and local entities that could be affected by his agenda. My link suggests that the conflict of interest is tied to specific entities whose bonds Trump buys. But I think the bigger conflict concerns general interest rates. Lower the rates, and the higher the bond value. This probably explains why Trump is pressuring the Fed to lower interest rates — even though it would be inflationary. I wonder how long the maturities are. This info could confirm where the conflicts of interest tend to lie. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2178 "2025-08-30T01:11:23Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > This info could confirm where the conflicts of interest tend to lie. Respectfully (to you, that is), so what? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2179 "2025-08-30T02:10:08Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > This info could confirm where the conflicts of interest tend to lie. > > Respectfully (to you, that is), so what? Consider: > [@](#): > > On Jan. 21, Trump purchased a bond belonging to the New York Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. A week later, he purchased another handful of bonds over consecutive days. [Those bonds belong to various municipal](https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/024D876AAE518C5085258CEB006E7E2E/$FILE/Donald-J-Trump-08.12.2025-278T(2).pdf) hospital facilities, airports, regional development funds and school districts [from Florida to Alaska](https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/5315A095A2EE1B9185258CEB006E7E36/$FILE/Donald-J-Trump-08.12.2025-278T(3).pdf). So? Those are the kind of securities a blind trust would likely buy. If Trump had the government somehow plow a bunch of federal money into the New York Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, or even the too-big-to-fail banks mentioned, it is not going to noticeably push up the value of those bonds, because the paper is already low-risk. And protecting us from the kind of general economic collapse that would crash the credit rating of government bond issuers, and too-big-to-fail banks, isn’t a conflict of interest. A competent presidential administration should already do that. Meta might be an edge case, but Trump shouldn’t be trying to crash that company regardless, and helping it would push the stocks, not the bonds. However, if Trump bought a miscellaneous boatload of, say, five year bonds, and then tried to push down interest rates for the rest of his term – as he is doing – that’s a major bit of self-dealing. And that’s why I put this in the compendium of horrors thread. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2180 "2025-08-30T02:35:06Z")
There’s one eye popping disgrace after another in this article about the guy in charge of readiness for the U.S. military: > **[Top DOD Official Sues ‘Notorious Astrologer’ After Messy Affair](https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-dod-official-anthony-tata-sues-notorious-astrologer-after-yearslong-affair/)** > > Court documents suggest that Anthony Tata had a messy affair with a woman known as “Starheal.” > [@](#): > > He’s also a former _Fox_ contributor who once said that former President Barack Obama was a “terrorist leader” . . . > > Tripp allegedly threatened to publicly accuse Tata of rape . . . > > While he was in the military, the Army’s Office of Inspector General found that Tata engaged in three [extramarital affairs](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article35852217.html) during his first marriage and fathered a son out of wedlock. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774/2181 "2025-08-30T03:27:54Z")
When I said “so what?” I didn’t mean there would be no consequences, just that Trump wouldn’t care. IOW, _he_ would say _"so what?_" [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=108) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-current-second-trump-administration-a-compendium-of-horrors/1009774.md?page=110)