Another video of the US President Donald Trump has sent social media into a frenzy, this time after he was seen repeatedly tapping the side of his leg while walking across an airport tarmac.
The unusual movement quickly caught people’s attention, with one user on social media asking a question that many others soon began discussing:
“Why is he always slapping his side now?”
The clip comes as renewed attention has been focused on Donald Trump’s health after he was recently photographed with noticeable bruising and scrapes on his arms.
At a LIV Golf event at his Trump National Bedminster course in New Jersey, Trump was seen with bruises covering parts of his forearms.
Additionally, he also appeared to have Band-Aids on two fingers of his right hand.
Those images quickly reignited an ongoing conversation about the 80-year-old president’s health, the oldest person ever inaugurated as U.S. president.
Yet this time, it wasn’t just the bruises that people were talking about.
The tapping has people speculating
One user on Reddit said they had only recently noticed the repeated tapping and claimed they had seen it in several clips of Trump walking.
“I hadn’t noticed this until very recently but there are several clips where the President is walking and seems to tap his right leg. Is this a sign of one of his medical conditions?” the user asked.
They added: “I can’t believe it’s a nervous habit as I’ve never seen it before. Can anyone shed some light on what they think is behind the right leg tapping?”
Hundreds of people have since shared their own theories about what could be behind the unusual movement.
#greenscreen #greenscreenvideo This video is my opinion 🤓 https://t.co/kUtcRjLqyp
— epistemiccrisis (@goldstar002) October 20, 2026
Some people suggested it could simply be a physical therapy technique or a way of relieving muscle tension. Other people went much further, speculating about possible neurological or cognitive problems.
However there is an important distinction here: none of those theories have been confirmed.
There is no public medical evidence establishing that Trump’s leg-tapping is connected to a neurological condition, and neither Trump nor his medical team has said that the movement is caused by one.
Yet, the footage has added another chapter to the ongoing scrutiny surrounding the president’s health.
Trump has faced health questions before
Trump’s bruised hands and arms have attracted attention on several occasions, prompting questions about why he appears to bruise so easily.
The White House has previously pushed back against concerns about his health. Former press secretary Karoline Leavitt once shared that Trump frequently shakes hands and interacts with large numbers of people, offering that as one reason for the bruising.
Trump has previously acknowledged that he has been taking a higher dose of aspirin than the amount often recommended by doctors, claiming he has followed the routine for around 25 years.
Also, he has suggested that the medication could be contributing to his tendency to bruise easily.
Speaking at a rally in Ohio just last week, president Trump spoke candidly about his long-standing aspirin routine and admitted that he doesn’t always follow his doctors’ advice when it comes to the daily dose.
“I take an aspirin a day,” Trump told supporters. “I don’t know if it works, but psychologically I need it. They said, ‘Sir, you don’t need that!’ I said, ‘Do me a favor, I’ve been doing okay for 35 years. Leave me alone.’”
Defends his physical and mental capabilities
Trump’s health has been the subject of scrutiny for years, with questions ranging from his physical condition to speculation about his cognitive abilities.
In 2025, the president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a condition that affects blood flow in the veins of the legs. Concerns about his cognitive health have also surfaced repeatedly, although Trump has strongly rejected suggestions that he is experiencing any decline.
He has pointed to his performance on cognitive tests as evidence that he remains mentally sharp. In December last year, he even insisted that he was “sharper than I was 25 years ago.”
At the same time, moments captured on camera have continued to fuel discussion online, including an occasion when Trump appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open during a cabinet meeting.
The White House has consistently pushed back against concerns about his health.
Following what Trump described as a “six-month physical” in May, on his Truth Social he wrote that “everything” had “checked out PERFECTLY.”
His previous annual physical at Walter Reed, in April 2025, also drew attention after the White House said he was in “excellent health” and reported his weight at 224 pounds — around 20 pounds less than five years earlier.
In spite of the reassurances from Trump and his administration, his health remains a subject of intense public interest, with even seemingly small changes in his movements quickly becoming fodder for speculation.