7 Shocking Moments Donald Trump’s Cankles Made Headlines (And Left Us Astonished)

The discussion around Trump’s ankles began in earnest when he was photographed at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. Sitting alongside his wife, Melania Trump, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and sports executive Leena Al Ashqar—each with notably slender ankles—Trump’s noticeably thicker legs stood out, likened by some to tree stumps. This visual contrast ignited a flurry of online conversations. Acknowledging the chatter, the White House later addressed the matter, confirming that the former president was aware of the attention his ankles were receiving.

During a press briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt disclosed that Trump had consulted a doctor about his condition. “Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were conducted and identified chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, especially among those over 70,” Leavitt stated, as reported by The Hill. She added that the ultrasound did not reveal any deep vein thrombosis in Trump’s legs. While this was reassuring news, Leavitt’s comments subtly reminded the public that Trump, often critical of his predecessor Joe Biden’s age, is himself not a young man.

Following the announcement of his chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis, Trump traveled to Scotland, notably without his makeup artist. Despite the diagnosis, his distinctively thick ankles remained unchanged.

Donald Trump jetted off to Scotland (y’know, the trip his MUA skipped) soon after his diagnosis with chronic venous insufficiency was announced, and he was still rocking those thick ankles. 

We certainly don’t want to put words in Ursula von der Leyen’s mouth or ascribe feelings she doesn’t have, but we can’t help but wonder if her glancing off to the side had anything to do with trying to avert her eyes from the cankle sitch. Just ’cause we wish we could. 

Ursula von der Leyen wasn’t the only politician Donald Trump met with during his trip to Scotland. He also sat down with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It’s worth pointing out that Trump sat somewhat daintily during some of that, almost emulating the Princess of Wales’ famous sitting style (which should have been a sign that he’d try to charm Kate Middleton a few months later). 

Other than channeling his inner princess, Trump’s ankle cross doubled as a way to make his look slimmer. However, at one point, he did uncross them, unleashing the canks. 

Someone should probably tell Donald Trump fibbing is a quick way to get on Santa’s naughty list — and that yes, carefully curated shadows to hide one’s massive cankles does constitute a lie. Then again, Melania Trump’s eye-opening quote about hating Christmas decor has us thinking maybe neither of them loves the holiday or has concerns about coal showing up in their stockings come Christmas morning. 

On second thought, maybe Donald’s ankles had stretched enough that he was wearing his stockings as socks by that point (zero space for coal in them then!).  

Nothing says “Let’s hash things out and make nice” quite like inviting a foreign leader who can’t stand you to the Oval Office, slumping in your chair, and exposing your chunky ankles. At least, it seems as though that was Donald Trump’s strategy going into his meeting with Colombian president Gustavo Petro. 

TBH, it probably worked, because Trump called the meeting a roaring success, bragging to the press that they got on great and that he thought Petro was “terrific,” per BBC News. Shout out to the cankles!

President Trump will join the show Sunday pic.twitter.com/ZC76YarHNK

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) February 19, 2026

We don’t know what’s more concerning: Donald Trump’s still-swollen ankles in a still from an interview with Josh Pate, or the fact that the president seemed to be hanging on to the table for dear life. Maybe he was just super engaged in the conversation — though thinking about it, it’s possible he thought leaning forward might make the cankles look slightly less intense. 

TBH, they did look slightly slimmer towards the calves. However, after a closer look at the openings of his shoes, there’s no question he was busting out of them. 

Finally, we give you: Donald Trump’s cankles at his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in June 2025. As he had been at the FIFA Club World Cup final and in his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, Trump was surrounded by people whose ankles were significantly skinnier than his own, and unfortunately, that stuck out. Unlike von der Leyen, though, a pic was taken just as Merz looked down to where Trump’s cankles were. 

Coincidence? Maybe. Probably, actually. However, if there was a group chat of world leaders sharing news clips of Trump’s ankles, well, that’d be tres amusing.