Latest news with #CVI
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Trump administration slashed federal funding for gun violence prevention: Reuters exclusive
The scene on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street, near 345 Park Avenue where a New York Police Department police officer was shot, Monday, July 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis) CHICAGO -- The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting US$158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Of the 145 community violence intervention (CVI) grants totaling more than $300 million awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice, 69 grants were abruptly terminated in April, according to government data analyzed by Reuters. The elimination of CVI programs is part of a broader rollback at the department's grant-issuing Office of Justice Programs, which terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million in April, impacting a range of public safety and victim services programs. A DOJ official told Reuters the gun violence grants were eliminated because they 'no longer effectuate the program's goals or agency's priorities.' Thousands of Office of Justice Programs grants are under review, the official said, and are being evaluated, among other things, on how well they support law enforcement and combat violent crime. The majority of CVI grants were originally funded through the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and part of a push by former president Joe Biden to stem the rise of gun violence in America, including establishing the first White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. That office was 'dismantled on day one' of Trump taking office, said former deputy director of the office, Greg Jackson. Prior to the Biden-era funding, most gun violence prevention programs were funded on the state level. 'These programs five years ago, if they did exist, had very small budgets and didn't have large, multimillion-dollar federal investments,' said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety, which has worked with 136 community-based violence intervention organizations since 2019. Twenty-five of the groups were impacted by funding cuts. The grants supported a wide range of CVI programming to prevent shootings such as training outreach teams to de-escalate and mediate conflict, social workers to connect people to services and employment, and hospital-based programs for gun violence victims. '[It's] preventing them from doing the work in service of those that need it the most at the most urgent, and deadliest time of the year,' Spence said, referring to summer months when there's typically an uptick in shootings. Gun violence deaths in the U.S. grew more than 50% from 2015 to the pandemic-era peak of 21,383 in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Since then, deadly shootings have been in decline, falling to 16,725 in 2024, which is more in line with the pre-pandemic trend. As of May 2025, deaths are down 866 from the same period last year. Defunded programs While cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles received the bulk of gun violence prevention funding, southern cities like Memphis, Selma, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana also received millions and were more reliant on the grants due to limited state support for the programs, experts told Reuters. 'Very few state legislatures are passing funding right now, that's why the federal cuts were such a tragic hit,' said Amber Goodwin, co-founder of Community Violence Legal Network, who's part of a coalition of lawyers working to get grants reinstated. Nearly a dozen interviews with legal experts, gun violence interventionists, and former DOJ officials said funding cuts threaten the long-term sustainability of community violence intervention initiatives that have taken years to establish and are embedded in predominantly Black and Latino communities. Pha'Tal Perkins founded Think Outside Da Block in 2016, a nonprofit based in Chicago's violence-plagued Englewood neighborhood. Federal funding allowed him to hire full-time staff, but when grants were stripped, he was forced to lay off five team members. 'Being able to have outreach teams at specific places at the right time to have conversations before things get out of hand is what people don't see,' Perkins said. The programs initiated in 2022 marked the first time grassroots organizations could apply for federal community violence prevention funding directly, without going through law enforcement or state intermediaries, according to three former DOJ officials. Aqeela Sherrills, co-founder of Community Based Public Safety Collective in Los Angeles, provided training on implementing violence intervention strategies to nearly 94 grantees, including states, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations. Prior to the cuts, 'we were onboarding 30 new grantees through the federal government. Many of these cities and law enforcement agencies have no idea how to implement CVI,' Sherrills said. Police support Some critics of CVI argue that the programs aren't effective and that federal dollars would be better spent on law enforcement to stymie gun violence. Others view the initiatives as inherently 'anti-gun' and are 'nothing more than a funnel to send federal tax dollars to anti-gun non-profits who advocate against our rights,' said Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director of the Gun Owners of America. That view is not universally shared by law enforcement, however. In June, a letter signed by 18 law enforcement groups and police chiefs in Louisville, Minneapolis, Tucson and Omaha called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate funding that has resulted in 'measurable and significant reductions in violence and homicides.' 'These aren't feel-good programs; they're lifesaving, law-enforcement-enhancing strategies that work,' they wrote. Columbia, South Carolina Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly, who was unaware of the letter, told Reuters that CVI programs were relatively new in the city, but as a result, the police began collaborating more with community organizations. Kelly said Columbia's CVI programs focused on preventing retaliatory shootings that can escalate a neighborhood conflict. 'Public safety really starts in the neighborhood before police get involved. CVI work is very important; we've seen a drastic reduction in violent crime post-COVID and shootings are almost at a 10-year low,' Kelly said. Now, organizations are trying to figure out how to keep the doors open now that federal money has run dry. Durell Cowan, executive director of HEAL 901, a community violence prevention nonprofit in Memphis, received a $1.7 million CVI grant in October 2024. Cowan's organization received $150,000 in federal funds since the beginning of the year before his grant was canceled. He's had to dip into his personal savings to keep his 14-person staff on payroll, he said. Recently, he secured funding from an out-of-state nonprofit as well as a $125,000 emergency grant from the city. Still, he may be forced to conduct layoffs if federal government dollars don't start flowing again. 'We shouldn't be pulling from our own personal finances and life insurance policies to cover the cost of public safety,' he said. Reporting by Bianca Flowers in Chicago. Editing by Kat Stafford and Michael Learmonth, Reuters
Ya Libnan
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Trump admin. slashed federal funding for gun violence prevention
Police investigate motive behind deadly mass shooting in Manhattan office tower. By Bianca Flowers CHICAGO o) – The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore. Of the 145 community violence intervention (CVI) grants totaling more than $300 million awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice, 69 grants in April, according to government data analyzed by Reuters. 4 people killed, including 36-year-old NYPD officer following a shooting in Midtown Manhattan on Monday. The alleged gunman , 27 who was identified as Shane Tamura died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Another person was shot and remains in critical condition. The elimination of CVI programs is part of a broader rollback at the department's grant-issuing Office of Justice Programs, which terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million in April, impacting a range of public safety and victim services programs. A DOJ official told Reuters the gun violence grants were eliminated because they 'no longer effectuate the program's goals or agency's priorities.' Thousands of Office of Justice Programs grants are under review, the official said, and are being evaluated, among other things, on how well they support law enforcement and combat violent crime. The majority of CVI grants were originally funded through the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and part of a push by former President Joe Biden to stem the rise of gun violence in America, including establishing the first White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. That office was 'dismantled on day one' of Trump taking office, said former deputy director of the office, Greg Jackson. Prior to the Biden-era funding, most gun violence prevention programs were funded on the state level. 'These programs five years ago, if they did exist, had very small budgets and didn't have large, multimillion-dollar federal investments,' said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety, which has worked with 136 community-based violence intervention organizations since 2019. Twenty-five of the groups were impacted by funding cuts. The grants supported a wide range of CVI programming to prevent shootings such as training outreach teams to de-escalate and mediate conflict, social workers to connect people to services and employment, and hospital-based programs for gun violence victims. '[It's] preventing them from doing the work in service of those that need it the most at the most urgent, and deadliest time of the year,' Spence said, referring to summer months when there's typically an uptick in shootings. Gun violence deaths in the U.S. grew more than 50% from 2015 to the pandemic-era peak of 21,383 in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. , opens new tab Since then, deadly shootings have been in decline, falling to 16,725 in 2024, which is more in line with the pre-pandemic trend. As of May 2025, deaths are down 866 from the same period last year. DEFUNDED PROGRAMS While cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles received the bulk of gun violence prevention funding, southern cities like Memphis, Selma, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana also received millions and were more reliant on the grants due to limited state support for the programs, experts told Reuters. 'Very few state legislatures are passing funding right now, that's why the federal cuts were such a tragic hit,' said Amber Goodwin, co-founder of Community Violence Legal Network, who's part of a coalition of lawyers working to get grants reinstated. Nearly a dozen interviews with legal experts, gun violence interventionists, and former DOJ officials said funding cuts threaten the long-term sustainability of community violence intervention initiatives that have taken years to establish and are embedded in predominantly Black and Latino communities. Pha'Tal Perkins founded Think Outside Da Block in 2016, a nonprofit based in Chicago's violence-plagued Englewood neighborhood. Federal funding allowed him to hire full-time staff, but when grants were stripped, he was forced to lay off five team members. 'Being able to have outreach teams at specific places at the right time to have conversations before things get out of hand is what people don't see,' Perkins said. The programs initiated in 2022 marked the first time grassroots organizations could apply for federal community violence prevention funding directly, without going through law enforcement or state intermediaries, according to three former DOJ officials. Aqeela Sherrills, co-founder of Community Based Public Safety Collective in Los Angeles, provided training on implementing violence intervention strategies to nearly 94 grantees, including states, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations. Prior to the cuts, 'we were onboarding 30 new grantees through the federal government. Many of these cities and law enforcement agencies have no idea how to implement CVI,' Sherrills said. POLICE SUPPORT Some critics of CVI argue that the programs aren't effective and that federal dollars would be better spent on law enforcement to stymie gun violence. Others view the initiatives as inherently 'anti-gun' and are 'nothing more than a funnel to send federal tax dollars to anti-gun non-profits who advocate against our rights,' said Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director of the Gun Owners of America. That view is not universally shared by law enforcement, however. In June, a letter signed by 18 law enforcement groups and police chiefs in Louisville, Minneapolis, Tucson and Omaha called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate funding that has resulted in 'measurable and significant reductions in violence and homicides.' 'These aren't feel-good programs; they're lifesaving, law-enforcement-enhancing strategies that work,' they wrote. Columbia, South Carolina Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly, who was unaware of the letter, told Reuters that CVI programs were relatively new in the city, but as a result, the police began collaborating more with community organizations. Kelly said Columbia's CVI programs focused on preventing retaliatory shootings that can escalate a neighborhood conflict. 'Public safety really starts in the neighborhood before police get involved. CVI work is very important; we've seen a drastic reduction in violent crime post-COVID and shootings are almost at a 10-year low,' Kelly said. Now, organizations are trying to figure out how to keep the doors open now that federal money has run dry. Durell Cowan, executive director of HEAL 901, a community violence prevention nonprofit in Memphis, received a $1.7 million CVI grant in October 2024. Cowan's organization received $150,000 in federal funds since the beginning of the year before his grant was canceled. He's had to dip into his personal savings to keep his 14-person staff on payroll, he said. Recently, he secured funding from an out-of-state nonprofit as well as a $125,000 emergency grant from the city. Still, he may be forced to conduct layoffs if federal government dollars don't start flowing again. 'We shouldn't be pulling from our own personal finances and life insurance policies to cover the cost of public safety,' he said. Reuters, Exclusive report
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
2 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Trump's deep cuts threaten efforts to combat gun violence even as US battles mass shootings
The Trump administration has abruptly terminated over half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention, cutting $158 million in grants to community programs across major US cities. read more A bus belonging to the Think Outside Da Block gun violence prevention program sits parked outside of the organization's office, in Chicago, Illinois, US. Reuters The Trump administration has cancelled more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the United States, including $158 million in grants to nonprofits in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore. According to official data analysed by Reuters, 69 of the 145 community violence intervention (CVI) contracts totalling more than $300 million given by the US Department of Justice were abruptly discontinued in April. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The elimination of CVI programs is part of a broader rollback at the department's grant-issuing Office of Justice Programs, which terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million in April, impacting a range of public safety and victim services programs. A DOJ official told Reuters the gun violence grants were eliminated because they 'no longer effectuate the program's goals or agency's priorities.' Thousands of Office of Justice Programs grants are under review, the official said, and are being evaluated, among other things, on how well they support law enforcement and combat violent crime. The majority of CVI grants were originally funded through the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and part of a push by former President Joe Biden to stem the rise of gun violence in America, including establishing the first White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. That office was 'dismantled on day one' of Trump taking office, said former deputy director of the office, Greg Jackson. Prior to the Biden-era funding, most gun violence prevention programs were funded on the state level. 'These programs five years ago, if they did exist, had very small budgets and didn't have large, multimillion-dollar federal investments,' said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety, which has worked with 136 community-based violence intervention organizations since 2019. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Twenty-five of the groups were impacted by funding cuts. The grants supported a wide range of CVI programming to prevent shootings such as training outreach teams to de-escalate and mediate conflict, social workers to connect people to services and employment, and hospital-based programs for gun violence victims. '[It's] preventing them from doing the work in service of those that need it the most at the most urgent, and deadliest time of the year,' Spence said, referring to summer months when there's typically an uptick in shootings. Gun violence deaths in the US grew more than 50% from 2015 to the pandemic-era peak of 21,383 in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive., opens new tab Since then, deadly shootings have been in decline, falling to 16,725 in 2024, which is more in line with the pre-pandemic trend. As of May 2025, deaths are down 866 from the same period last year. Defunded programs While cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles received the bulk of gun violence prevention funding, southern cities like Memphis, Selma, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana also received millions and were more reliant on the grants due to limited state support for the programs, experts told Reuters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Very few state legislatures are passing funding right now, that's why the federal cuts were such a tragic hit,' said Amber Goodwin, co-founder of Community Violence Legal Network, who's part of a coalition of lawyers working to get grants reinstated. Nearly a dozen interviews with legal experts, gun violence interventionists, and former DOJ officials said funding cuts threaten the long-term sustainability of community violence intervention initiatives that have taken years to establish and are embedded in predominantly Black and Latino communities. Pha'Tal Perkins founded Think Outside Da Block in 2016, a nonprofit based in Chicago's violence-plagued Englewood neighborhood. Federal funding allowed him to hire full-time staff, but when grants were stripped, he was forced to lay off five team members. 'Being able to have outreach teams at specific places at the right time to have conversations before things get out of hand is what people don't see,' Perkins said. The programs initiated in 2022 marked the first time grassroots organizations could apply for federal community violence prevention funding directly, without going through law enforcement or state intermediaries, according to three former DOJ officials. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Aqeela Sherrills, co-founder of Community Based Public Safety Collective in Los Angeles, provided training on implementing violence intervention strategies to nearly 94 grantees, including states, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations. Prior to the cuts, 'we were onboarding 30 new grantees through the federal government. Many of these cities and law enforcement agencies have no idea how to implement CVI,' Sherrills said. Police support Some critics of CVI argue that the programs aren't effective and that federal dollars would be better spent on law enforcement to stymie gun violence. Others view the initiatives as inherently 'anti-gun' and are 'nothing more than a funnel to send federal tax dollars to anti-gun non-profits who advocate against our rights,' said Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director of the Gun Owners of America. That view is not universally shared by law enforcement, however. In June, a letter signed by 18 law enforcement groups and police chiefs in Louisville, Minneapolis, Tucson and Omaha called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate funding that has resulted in 'measurable and significant reductions in violence and homicides.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'These aren't feel-good programs; they're lifesaving, law-enforcement-enhancing strategies that work,' they wrote. Columbia, South Carolina Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly, who was unaware of the letter, told Reuters that CVI programs were relatively new in the city, but as a result, the police began collaborating more with community organizations. Kelly said Columbia's CVI programs focused on preventing retaliatory shootings that can escalate a neighborhood conflict. 'Public safety really starts in the neighborhood before police get involved. CVI work is very important; we've seen a drastic reduction in violent crime post-COVID and shootings are almost at a 10-year low,' Kelly said. Now, organizations are trying to figure out how to keep the doors open now that federal money has run dry. Durell Cowan, executive director of HEAL 901, a community violence prevention nonprofit in Memphis, received a $1.7 million CVI grant in October 2024. Cowan's organization received $150,000 in federal funds since the beginning of the year before his grant was canceled. He's had to dip into his personal savings to keep his 14-person staff on payroll, he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Recently, he secured funding from an out-of-state nonprofit as well as a $125,000 emergency grant from the city. Still, he may be forced to conduct layoffs if federal government dollars don't start flowing again. 'We shouldn't be pulling from our own personal finances and life insurance policies to cover the cost of public safety,' he said.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Trump administration slashed federal funding for gun violence prevention
The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the US, cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore. Of the 145 community violence intervention (CVI) grants totaling more than $300 million awarded through the US Department of Justice, 69 grants were abruptly terminated in April, according to government data analyzed by Reuters. The elimination of CVI programs is part of a broader rollback at the department's grant-issuing Office of Justice Programs, which terminated 365 grants valued at $811 million in April, impacting a range of public safety and victim services programs. A DOJ official told Reuters the gun violence grants were eliminated because they 'no longer effectuate the program's goals or agency's priorities.' Thousands of Office of Justice Programs grants are under review, the official said, and are being evaluated, among other things, on how well they support law enforcement and combat violent crime. The majority of CVI grants were originally funded through the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and part of a push by former President Joe Biden to stem the rise of gun violence in America, including establishing the first White House Office for Gun Violence Prevention. That office was 'dismantled on day one' of Trump taking office, said former deputy director of the office, Greg Jackson. Prior to the Biden-era funding, most gun violence prevention programs were funded on the state level. 'These programs five years ago, if they did exist, had very small budgets and didn't have large, multimillion-dollar federal investments,' said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety, which has worked with 136 community-based violence intervention organizations since 2019. Twenty-five of the groups were impacted by funding cuts. The grants supported a wide range of CVI programming to prevent shootings such as training outreach teams to de-escalate and mediate conflict, social workers to connect people to services and employment, and hospital-based programs for gun violence victims. '[It's] preventing them from doing the work in service of those that need it the most at the most urgent, and deadliest time of the year,' Spence said, referring to summer months when there's typically an uptick in shootings. Gun violence deaths in the US grew more than 50 percent from 2015 to the pandemic-era peak of 21,383 in 2021, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Since then, deadly shootings have been in decline, falling to 16,725 in 2024, which is more in line with the pre-pandemic trend. As of May 2025, deaths are down 866 from the same period last year. Defunded programs While cities like New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles received the bulk of gun violence prevention funding, southern cities like Memphis, Selma, Alabama and Baton Rouge, Louisiana also received millions and were more reliant on the grants due to limited state support for the programs, experts told Reuters. 'Very few state legislatures are passing funding right now, that's why the federal cuts were such a tragic hit,' said Amber Goodwin, co-founder of Community Violence Legal Network, who's part of a coalition of lawyers working to get grants reinstated. Nearly a dozen interviews with legal experts, gun violence interventionists, and former DOJ officials said funding cuts threaten the long-term sustainability of community violence intervention initiatives that have taken years to establish and are embedded in predominantly Black and Latino communities. Pha'Tal Perkins founded Think Outside Da Block in 2016, a nonprofit based in Chicago's violence-plagued Englewood neighborhood. Federal funding allowed him to hire full-time staff, but when grants were stripped, he was forced to lay off five team members. 'Being able to have outreach teams at specific places at the right time to have conversations before things get out of hand is what people don't see,' Perkins said. The programs initiated in 2022 marked the first time grassroots organizations could apply for federal community violence prevention funding directly, without going through law enforcement or state intermediaries, according to three former DOJ officials. Aqeela Sherrills, co-founder of Community Based Public Safety Collective in Los Angeles, provided training on implementing violence intervention strategies to nearly 94 grantees, including states, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations. Prior to the cuts, 'we were onboarding 30 new grantees through the federal government. Many of these cities and law enforcement agencies have no idea how to implement CVI,' Sherrills said. Police support Some critics of CVI argue that the programs aren't effective and that federal dollars would be better spent on law enforcement to stymie gun violence. Others view the initiatives as inherently 'anti-gun' and are 'nothing more than a funnel to send federal tax dollars to anti-gun non-profits who advocate against our rights,' said Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director of the Gun Owners of America. That view is not universally shared by law enforcement, however. In June, a letter signed by 18 law enforcement groups and police chiefs in Louisville, Minneapolis, Tucson and Omaha called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to reinstate funding that has resulted in 'measurable and significant reductions in violence and homicides.' 'These aren't feel-good programs; they're lifesaving, law-enforcement-enhancing strategies that work,' they wrote. Columbia, South Carolina Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly, who was unaware of the letter, told Reuters that CVI programs were relatively new in the city, but as a result, the police began collaborating more with community organizations. Kelly said Columbia's CVI programs focused on preventing retaliatory shootings that can escalate a neighborhood conflict. 'Public safety really starts in the neighborhood before police get involved. CVI work is very important; we've seen a drastic reduction in violent crime post-COVID and shootings are almost at a 10-year low,' Kelly said. Now, organizations are trying to figure out how to keep the doors open now that federal money has run dry. Durell Cowan, executive director of HEAL 901, a community violence prevention nonprofit in Memphis, received a $1.7 million CVI grant in October 2024. Cowan's organization received $150,000 in federal funds since the beginning of the year before his grant was canceled. He's had to dip into his personal savings to keep his 14-person staff on payroll, he said. Recently, he secured funding from an out-of-state nonprofit as well as a $125,000 emergency grant from the city. Still, he may be forced to conduct layoffs if federal government dollars don't start flowing again. 'We shouldn't be pulling from our own personal finances and life insurance policies to cover the cost of public safety,' he said.
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Hands Under Scrutiny in New Photos
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. New photos of President Donald Trump's hands have led to renewed scrutiny about his health. Posting on social media, users have shared images of Trump during his visit to Europe, saying his hands are "swollen and bruised." Others suggested he was wearing makeup to conceal bruises. Why It Matters Earlier this month, the White House announced that Trump, who became the oldest person sworn in as president at the beginning of his second term, had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), something his doctor described as "benign and common." CVI is a condition in which the veins in the legs are unable to efficiently return blood to the heart. It is not life-threatening. The White House's announcement came after photos of Trump at various events showed swelling in his legs and bruises on his hands, which sparked public scrutiny about his health and fitness. Some have called for the 79-year-old to release his full medical records. President Donald Trump clasps his hands as he speaks with the media during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland on July 28. President Donald Trump clasps his hands as he speaks with the media during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland on July 28. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin What To Know X users weighed in on photos taken of Trump's hands during his recent trip to Scotland, where he met EU leaders. One user posted a video of the president's hands, saying Trump's signs of CVI had been "reportedly covered with makeup." Democratic activist Chris D. Jackson posted an image and added: "Wow. Look at those swollen and bruised hands in this photo from yesterday. Trump is not well." Another user replied, "So bad they're putting makeup on them." Age was a key theme of debate in last year's presidential election, with Trump often criticizing his opponent, then-President Joe Biden, as being too old to lead. Amid the increased scrutiny over Trump's fitness, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The president remains in excellent health." At a news briefing, she said the president's medical team found "no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease" and that he was not experiencing any discomfort related to CVI. Leavitt added that the bruise on his hand was consistent with irritation from "frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin." What People Are Saying Sean Barbabella, the president's physician, wrote in a memo: "The president underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies. Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70." Dr. Brian Funaki, a leading expert in vascular and interventional radiology at the University of Chicago Medicine, previously told Newsweek: "Generally speaking it is not life-threatening in and of itself, but it can predispose to developing blood clots in the veins in the legs—which, in the worst-case scenario, could break off and migrate to the lungs, causing pulmonary emboli, which can be fatal. This is why some people with this condition are treated with anticoagulation or other means, such as an inferior vena cava filter, which is a device designed to catch migrating blood clots." What Happens Next Though Trump's medical team has said he is in good health, scrutiny over his health is likely to continue.
