HEALTHDonald Trump's Neck Rash: Doctors Sound the Alarm on Keeping Skin Condition a Secret
A visibly irritated rash on President Donald Trump's neck has caused doctors to speculate about the 79-year-old's health.
March 3 2026, Published 3:56 p.m. ET
Doctors are sounding the alarm about a disturbing rash that appeared on President Donald Trump’s neck in videos and pictures from a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House on Monday, March 2.
While the president’s White House physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, stated that the reddish rash visible on the right side of the president's neck is the result of a "preventative skin treatment,” medical experts outside of the White House are crying foul.
“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,” Barbabella wrote in a statement.
Eyebrows Were Raised When Social Media Caught Sight of the Rash on the President's Neck
Donald Trump was seen with a rash on his neck.
Dr. Vin Gupta, MS NOW medical analyst and former chief medical officer at Amazon, speculated the rash could indicate a pre-cancerous skin condition, such as actinic keratosis.
Gupta criticized what he described as "secrecy" and "dancing around the issue" regarding the president's health.
“The White House medical team didn’t know [Trump] got a CT scan. They claimed it was an MRI for weeks,” Gupta wrote on X, referring to a clandestine medical scan Trump had sometime in October 2025, which the president described as the “stupidest” thing he ever agreed to do.
Dr. Barbabella admitted that the POTUS underwent a CT scan (initially reported as an MRI) of his cardiovascular system and abdomen in October 2025 and said the results were "perfectly normal" and the scan was purely preventive.
One Doctor Questioned Whether the Statement Was Even Written by the White House Doctor
Dr. Jonathan Reiner wondered whether the statement about the rash was actually an official one.
“Now instead of acknowledging he might have a pre-cancerous skin condition, they dance around the issue,” Gupta noted. “Trying to fool the public just makes it worse.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist to former Vice President Dick Cheney, questioned whether the official statement was actually written by Barbabella, noting unusual phrasing such as referring to himself as "the White House Doctor" in the third person.
“The hint that this statement might not have actually been written by Dr. Barbabella is that in it, he says that the medication was ‘prescribed by the White House Doctor.’ He’s the WH Doctor,” Reiner wrote on X.
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Dr. Jonathan Reiner Speculated the Rash Could Be From Precancerous Treatment
Dr. Jonathan Reiner countered the White House diagnosis with one of his own.
Reiner, a medical analyst on CNN, offered more of his expertise in a subsequent post.
“Preventive skin treatments (such as topical 5 fluorouracil) are commonly used to prevent overt skin cancer in people with precancerous skin lesions," Reiner wrote.
"We don’t know what specific treatment the president is receiving, but why all the secrecy for something that is potentially easy to treat and very common in older people?” he asked.
The White House Maintains That the President Is the Poster Boy for Vitality
Despite all the visible symptoms, the 79-year-old POTUS is in 'excellent health,' the White House insists.
Other independent observers have noted that similar appearances can be caused by delayed hypersensitivity reactions (similar to poison ivy) to various chemicals, though they emphasize that a diagnosis cannot be made from photographs alone.
The 79-year-old president's health has been the subject of recent White House clarifications and public scrutiny due to visible symptoms including bruising, sluggishness, incoherent ramblings, speech slurring and diagnostic tests.
Despite these observations, his medical team maintains he remains in "excellent overall health" and possesses "long-term vitality."
