If you’ve ever wondered what Donald Trump looks like without his signature citrus sheen, the internet has finally found out! A viral Reddit post has done what decades of political journalism, court sketches, and late-night talk show jokes could not: strip the president of his infamous orange hue. And the verdict is that pale Donald Trump is getting rave reviews! The photo from September 21 (as he leaned against a wall chatting with reporters) showed the 79-year-old glowing a particularly intense shade of “Windsor Banquet Bronze.”
The Reddit user (clearly tech-savvy and a little curious) digitally ‘de-oranged’ him and wrote, “I removed Trump’s orange makeup to see how he looks underneath it.”
More than 70,000 upvotes and 4,000 comments later, the internet had spoken. The consensus? “Funny part is he looks more dignified without it,” one commenter wrote. Another chimed, “So he looks like a normal old white guy. Why [expletive] does he have that s— plastered on his face?” Even Trump critics (and a few reluctant admirers) agreed that he looked better. “Older, sure, but at least he’s not looking like a Jersey Shore reject,” one quipped. Another wrote, “Honestly, he looks less ‘old’ without it.” You know something’s up when the internet uses “normal-ish” to compliment Donald Trump, right?
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Trump’s tangerine tint has been an open secret since long before his first White House run. Grazia noted that you can’t picture Donald Trump without envisioning the holy trinity: blond comb-over, red tie, and deep “Valencia filter” tan!
The great Trump tan conspiracy: the possible meaning behind his orange obsession https://t.co/5R4WEQ4PVp pic.twitter.com/VpaWxP7an1
— Independent Lifestyle (@IndyLife) November 10, 2024
From SNL’s Alec Baldwin donning bronzer by the bucket to Halloween costumes mimicking his glow, the man’s shade has become part of American iconography. So, how does he achieve it? Theories abound. In The Independent, French makeup artist Audrey Lefevre, who worked with Trump’s team during the 2017 inauguration, suspected: “I don’t think President Trump wears a lot of makeup all the time, because I don’t think he likes that (…) But it’s mostly a spray tan.” Others don’t agree. The New York Times once quoted a former Trump aide saying that the shade was “good genes.” Sure, and perhaps the Great Wall of China built itself?
In her 2018 exposé, Unhinged, Omarosa Manigault claimed that Donald Trump once dismissed a staff member for mishandling a tanning bed at the White House. According to former FBI director James Comey, Trump’s face had “bright white half-moons” under his eyes, likely caused by tanning goggles. And if you think that’s wild, former military school classmates told The Washington Post that young Trump used to have a plugged-in ultraviolet tanning bulb in his dorm. The glow-up began long before The Apprentice!
But why the orange? Is it vanity, branding, or mind games? Researcher Tania Woloshyn, who studies light therapy, has argued that Trump’s shift to a darker hue coincided with his early 2000s reality TV fame. “Trump believes altering his natural skin colour will improve his appearance and (…) sense of self (…) It’s pretty relatable, honestly,” she described the tan.
Meanwhile, photo editor Emily Elsie added a more modern theory: stress. On Instagram, she said, “I feel like something more psychological is happening (…) when Trump took office in 2017, he was significantly less orange (…) The more stressed… the more makeup.” Apparently, when the polls look good, the bronzer fades — that’s one way to measure political anxiety: via Pantone!
And yet, the “de-tanned” photo has shaken that legacy.
NEXT UP: Donald Trump’s Discolored Hands Steal the Show at Dinner Date With the Vances
