Donald Trump’s strikingly orange face has always raised eyebrows — but now, new theories are surfacing that could finally explain the mystery…
”Why is no one covering this?”
Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for decades – but it was really during his first presidency that people started noticing his unusually orange complexion.
The 79-year-old president has long denied rumors of spray tans or heavy makeup, with one official even insisting his glowing hue comes down to nothing more than “good genes.” Still, the internet hasn’t stopped mocking his tanned look, and new theories are now surfacing.
Photo editor Emily Elsie is among those questioning what’s really going on. Sharing her thoughts on her Instagram, she wrote: “Why is no one covering this very important data point?”
Elsie pointed to images of Trump following last year’s assassination attempt, comparing them to more recent pictures. “In July 2024, Donald Trump looked like this… And now he looks like this,” she noted, placing the two side by side.
Dramatic color shifts
At first, Elsie thought the dramatic color shifts were just a matter of photo editing or lighting. “I noticed that Trump’s skin tone tended to oscillate wildly depending on lighting and the color palettes of the photographer,” she explained. “In a ‘cool’ light, Trump’s bronzer is less intense. A slightly warmer tone makes Trump’s ‘skin tone’ go crazy and orange.”
She added that Trump’s makeup once seemed tailored for television cameras, which can wash out natural tones. But lately, Elsie believes something deeper is at play. “When Trump took office in 2017, he was significantly less orange… but as his term wore on, more bronzer was applied.”
Her theory? Stress. “The more stressed Trump appears to be, the more makeup appears on his face,” Elsie said, pointing out that when he’s away from the Oval Office, his look often softens.
The turning point
Then came the turning point: “After Trump debated with Biden in June 2024, the makeup all but disappeared,” she shared. “When Trump was up in the polls, and a victory was all but certain, the bronzer was gone.”
But recently, Elsie noticed something new. “Believe me when I tell you we’ve never seen him like this. Also, it appears he’s doing his hands now?” she said, pointing to images of the president with makeup seemingly applied to cover his hands.
For months, Trump’s team brushed off questions, saying the discoloration was from “shaking people’s hands all day.” It was later revealed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, a common condition that makes it harder for veins to send blood back to the heart.
Elsie added that Trump’s makeup always seems to get “darker towards the end of his presidential campaigns.” And she suggests people take his changing look seriously instead of mocking it. “He is acting just like we do when we are a) insulated b) insecure c) surrounded by pictures of ourselves.”