President Donald Trump sparked fresh concerns about his health Monday, March 2, 2026, after photographers captured a red, scabbing rash on the right side of his neck during a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House.
The 79-year-old president’s mysterious skin condition, visible at his State of the Union address last Tuesday, has renewed speculation about his fitness for office. The nasty-looking irritation extended from below his jawline toward the side of his neck, with visible scabbing on the skin below his ear. Photos from a Board of Peace meeting on February 19 also showed early signs of redness.
Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, released a carefully worded statement that raised more questions than it answered. “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,” Barbabella told The Daily Beast.
The White House refused to say what the cream is preventing, leaving medical experts puzzled. If the treatment is truly preventative, critics questioned why the president already has such severe visible symptoms. In Trump’s April 2025 physical, Barbabella noted the president was using mometasone cream “as needed” for an unnamed skin condition.
The vague explanation triggered widespread speculation online. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office posted a photo of Trump’s neck condition with a series of eye emojis. Some observers pondered whether the rash could be a reaction to Fluorouracil, an anti-skin cancer medication commonly known as 5-FU.
Photographers spotted the redness during Trump’s visit to Corpus Christi on Friday, February 27, where he stood alongside actor Dennis Quaid. By Monday’s White House event, the irritation had become far more noticeable, with the skin appearing scabbed and flaking.
Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and medical analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, criticized the White House’s handling of the situation, writing on social media that the idea the cream is a “preventative” is “nonsensical.”
Common causes for such rashes include contact dermatitis from shaving products or cologne, razor burn, allergic reactions, heat rash, or irritation from clothing. Viral infections such as shingles can also produce localized rashes, though no official diagnosis has been made public.
The mysterious neck condition marks the latest in a series of health concerns surrounding Trump. In February 2025, photographers captured dark bruising on his hand, partially concealed with makeup. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attributed the bruising to frequent handshaking, insisting Trump “meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other president in history.”
In July 2025, photos revealed visible swelling around Trump’s ankles and lower legs as he sat between First Lady Melania Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. The White House subsequently confirmed Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common circulatory condition in older adults that causes leg swelling.
The administration has also faced criticism for its lack of transparency regarding Trump’s health. Last October, the White House didn’t disclose that Trump had undergone a CT scan at Walter Reed until the president mentioned it himself while talking with reporters aboard Air Force One. The White House had only released a single-page memo referencing “advanced imaging.” The administration later confirmed the scan examined Trump’s heart and abdomen.
Trump’s cognitive fitness has also come under scrutiny. The president sometimes appears to doze off at events and regularly confuses names and dates. During Monday’s Medal of Honor ceremony, Trump addressed the war in Iran before pivoting to discuss gold curtains and White House expansion projects.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published January 1, 2026, that he uses aspirin daily for blood thinning, taking 325 milligrams — four times higher than the commonly recommended 81-milligram dose. Officials cited his aspirin use as a contributing factor to his persistent bruising.
The president was 78 years and 7 months old when sworn into office in January 2025, making him the oldest person in American history to be inaugurated as president. Trump has insisted he is in “great shape” for his age, but the accumulating health issues have drawn comparisons to the scrutiny his predecessor Joe Biden faced.
The rash became more noticeable around the same time as Trump’s back-to-back meetings at Mar-a-Lago — with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday, December 28, to advance a ceasefire deal with Russia, and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, December 29, 2025.
As photos of the irritated skin circulated online, the White House’s refusal to provide detailed medical information has only fueled speculation about what Americans aren’t being told about their president’s health.
