The White House’s announcement that President Trump has a common chronic vein condition marked a rare glimpse into the health of the oldest person to be elected U.S. president, whose campaign and administration have long projected him as the picture of strength and vitality.

Trump, 79, has chronic venous insufficiency, according to the White House physician. The condition occurs when a person's leg veins struggle to pump blood back to the heart, causing blood to pool.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the disclosure at the top of a routine press briefing late last week, after images had been circulating online of Trump with swollen legs at the FIFA Club World Cup and a bruised hand covered in makeup.

"I know that many in the media have been speculating about bruising on the president's hand and also swelling in the president's legs. So, in the effort of transparency, the president wanted me to share a note from his physician with all of you today,” Leavitt said, before outlining Trump’s condition.

She said the bruising on his hands is “consistent with minor-soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen.”

The White House later released a more detailed memo from the White House physician.

Critics have accused Trump of trying to hide the true details of his health behind bluster, so the announcement of a specific diagnosis came with some surprise — and a certain amount of skepticism.

Barbara Perry, a presidential historian and professor at the University of Virginia, called it “a rather sudden turnaround from the Trump White House.”

Perry commended the administration on its transparency but noted the public needs to believe what........

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