Does Donald Trump have secondary syphilis? Red splotches on his hand trigger speculation, jokes

Donald Trump was probably hoping to be in the headlines after repeatedly speaking out at his civil defamation trial Wednesday to determine what, if any damages the former president would owe author E. Jean Carroll after he publicly denied her allegations of sexual assault.

But he probably wasn't expecting accusations of venereal disease.

Why are people saying Trump has syphilis?

A picture from the British tabloid The Daily Mail of the Republican presidential frontrunner leaving Trump Tower in New York City and waving to supporters quickly went viral when questions arose about the very visible red splotches on the fingers of his right hand.

The Daily Mail pointed out the marks and The Drudge Report picked up on it, which triggered Democratic strategist, author and former Clinton advisor James Carville to speculate in a YouTube video that the 77-year-old former president's "hand cuts" were evidence that he was suffering from syphilis.

"They don't look like cuts to me," Carville said. "They look like sores. And I've asked a number of M.D.s what medical condition manifests itself through hand sores and the answer is immediate and unanimous.

"Secondary syphilis," he said. "I think there's a good chance this man has the clap."

Carville, who has been highly critical of Trump in the past, admitted he didn't know anything about the photo from the Daily Mail, which he said was "probably a Fleet Street rag," and said it could have been doctored.

There has to date been no evidence that Trump has ever had syphilis. Trump has not yet commented on the accusation, although one of the 27 posts his account made to Truth Social from yesterday afternoon to Thursday morning shared a post from @realamericasvoice with a video of Trump bragging about his health.

"I actually feel better now than I did 30 years ago!" the post quoted Trump as saying.

Trump, who easily sailed to victory in the Iowa presidential caucuses Monday with a domineering lead over candidate hopefuls Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, will be in and out of courtrooms for at least the next few months. Along with the Carroll defamation case, for which he was already found liable, Trump faces four criminal trials and 91 criminal charges for attempts to overturn election results in 2020, election interference in Georgia, falsifying business records in New York and mishandling and refusal to return classified records after leaving the presidency.

Social media runs wild with Trump hand theories

People on the internet, that bastion of reliable medical knowledge, were quick to offer tongue-in-cheek suggestions, with #SyphilisDon trending on X (formerly Twitter) by Thursday morning.

Burns, shingles, blisters, damage from a fall, herpes, frostbite from his appearances during the bitterly cold Iowa caucuses over the weekend and more have all been brought up, along with ketchup, a curling iron, red ink from Top Secret documents and more.

"Does Donald Trump have early-stage leprosy?" asked The Bulwark's Tim Miller on X. Keith Olbermann suggested he slid on ice and grabbed something, or possibly stigmata.

Trump supporters scoffed at the accusations.

"I think it says more about Democrats and the kind of foolishness, nastiness they're involved in," Clay Edwards said in a TikTok video, "that the first thing they think of when they see a busted callus on a hard-working blue-collar billionaire's hand, on a man's hand that has spent the last eight years trying to save America, on a man's hand that has spent the last eight years trying to Make America Great Again, again, that the first thing they think of is an STD."

What are the mysterious red marks on Trump's hand?

Business Insider decided to ask a more reliable source of information and checked with Dr. Joshua Zeichner, an associate professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. His unofficial diagnosis?

No way to tell.

"Rashes on the hands can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from infections to inflammatory conditions to external exposures," Zeichner said.

The professor suggested the marks could have come from dryness and overwashing. Trump, an avowed germaphobe, has just spent several days in Arctic conditions traveling around Iowa and speaking in public for the presidential caucuses.

Zeichner also said the marks could have come from friction from activities (such as golf), a chemical reaction to something like lime juice, bug bites, or many other potential sources.

What is syphilis?

Syphilis is an infection caused by bacteria. It usually spreads through sexual contact but can also spread from person to person through direct contact with sores, according to the Mayo Clinic.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Donald Trump's hand, red marks, spark accusations on social media