7 Times Donald Trump's Cankles Caused A Stir (And Grossed Us Out)

ICYMI, Donald Trump has cankles. It's made the news on more than one occasion and even prompted the White House to make statements about it. Oh — and it's given us the ick, too. 

We first noticed the president's cankles when he was pictured at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey. Seated next to his wife Melania Trump, Gianni Infantino, and Leena Al Ashqar, all of whom had very slim ankles themselves, Trump's much-thicker lower legs were giving tree stumps, and naturally, that led to a ton of online chatter. A few days later, the White House acknowledged that there were a ton of questions about it and clarified that the president was aware of the issue, too. 

In a White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt shared that Trump had spoken with a doctor to have the situation checked out. "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," the press sec recounted (via The Hill), adding that the ultrasound hadn't picked up any deep vein thrombosis in the president's leg. Great news on the no-thrombosis front ... but basically, Leavitt's statement on Trump's health reminded the world that despite endlessly calling his predecessor "Sleepy Joe" Biden, he too was an elderly man. 

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.