12 times Trump's fake tan has looked horrible and exposed shocking reality
Donald Trump's signature "orange hue" has long been a source of fascination, and the intrigue about his distinctive skin tone shows no signs of waning.
The former US president is notorious for his glowing complexion, but it wasn't always so. Observers note that Trump's tanning booth-kissed appearance became a staple only after 2012, during his time on The Apprentice, when he began to apply makeup more frequently for TV appearances and public engagements.
From then on, his orange tint became a hallmark, and by 2015, as he stepped into the political arena as a presidential hopeful, the world took a keen interest in his tanning practices. There's been plenty of speculation over the years about how Trump achieves his "orange" look.
'Fake Melania' theory sparked as critics spot four signs after odd sunglasses and cap
Donald Trump's 7-word quip to Speaker Mike Johnson about his wife
Experts agree that at times, Trump's artificial tan appears particularly vivid, with the orange intensity peaking in 2020, only to be toned down as the 2024 election approaches.
A notably poor photo from 2020 even sparked a scientific investigation. Researchers have concluded that Trump's fluctuating skin color is likely due to self-tanner rather than heavy makeup application.
A PubMed study titled 'Fake tan or fake news?' delved into the distinctive skin tone of Donald Trump, comparing it to natural and artificial tanning ranges.
"We then compared the estimated skin colours with two existing data sets of skin colours: the range of skin tans that occur naturally in the Caucasian population and the range skin colors brought about by a sunless tan. We find that Trump's skin color is close to the edge of the natural skin tan gamut and firmly within the gamut of a sunless skin tan," the study reported.
The lighter area around his eyes has been attributed by some to wearing protective goggles while tanning.
Despite this analysis, Trump's camp has consistently denied using spray tans or sunbeds. In 2019, an anonymous White House insider claimed to The New York Times, under strict anonymity, that Trump's unique hue was simply due to 'good genes.'
Despite his denials, here are 12 times when Trump's tan situation took the internet by surprise.
Trump before the tan and makeup
Tan peaks in 2020
Pressure on means tanning bed is on
Two different skin tones in court
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
5 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
EU-US trade deal brings 'temporary stability' but 'unbalanced'
A trade deal clinched by the United States and the European Union will provide temporary stability but is "unbalanced," a French minister has said. The deal reached yesterday in talks between US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland "will provide temporary stability... but it is unbalanced," Benjamin Haddad, the French minister for Europe, wrote on X. The agreement will see EU exports taxed at 15% in a bid to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war. US President Donald Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland, describing the deal as the "biggest ever". The moment Trump and von der Leyen announce EU-US trade deal The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on a 1 August deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30% on European goods. "We've reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity," said Mr Trump. Mr Trump said a baseline tariff of 15% would apply across the board, including for Europe's crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. As part of the deal, Mr Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase "$750 billion worth of energy" from the United States, as well as make $600 billion in additional investments. Ms Von der Leyen said the "significant" purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc's bid to diversify away from Russian sources. Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, Ms von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9 trillion in goods and services. "It's a good deal," the EU chief told reporters. "It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. She added that bilateral tariff exemptions had been agreed on a number of "strategic products", notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials. Ms Von der Leyen said the EU still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in coming days. Mr Trump also said EU countries - which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO - would be purchasing "hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment". 'Best we could get' The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Mr Trump reclaimed the White House. It is currently subject to a 25% levy on cars, 50% on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent, which Washington threatened to hike to 30 percent in a no-deal scenario. The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far. "15% is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get," acknowledged Ms von der Leyen. Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states - whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission yesterday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the agreement will "help protect many jobs in Ireland". The Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed the deal for bringing "a measure of much-needed certainty", but that it "regrets" the baseline tariff. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided "needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations". But German exporters were less enthusiastic. The powerful BDI federation of industrial groups said the accord would have "considerable negative repercussions" while the country's VCI chemical trade association said the accord left rates "too high". The EU had pushed for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the United States before tariffs would apply. Mr Trump appeared to rule that out, saying steel was "staying the way it is", but the EU chief insisted later that "tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place" for steel. 'The big one' While 15% is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8%, it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10%. Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on $109 billion (€93 billion) of US goods, including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from 7 August. Mr Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by 1 August.
Irish Times
5 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland, with trade and Gaza on agenda
US president Donald Trump will host British prime minister Keir Starmer at his golf resort in western Scotland on Monday for talks expected to range from their recent trade deal to the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza , the two governments said. Mr Trump, boosted by the announcement of a trade agreement with the European Union late on Sunday, said he expected Mr Starmer would also be pleased. 'The prime minister of the UK, while he's not involved in this, will be very happy because you know, there's a certain unity that's been brought there, too,' Mr Trump said. 'He's going to be very happy to see what we did.' Mr Starmer had hoped to negotiate a drop in US steel and aluminum tariffs as part of the discussions, but Mr Trump on Sunday ruled out any changes in the 50 per cent duties for the EU and has said the trade deal with Britain has been 'concluded.' The two men are expected to travel from Mr Trump's golf resort in Turnberry, on Scotland's west coast, to a second sprawling estate owned by Mr Trump in the east, near Aberdeen. Mr Starmer was heading to Scotland from Switzerland, where England won the Women's European Championship final on Sunday. Casting a shadow over their visit has been the deepening crisis in the war-torn Gaza enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world. Mr Starmer has recalled his ministers from their summer recess for a cabinet meeting, a UK government source said on Sunday, most likely to discuss the situation in Gaza as pressure grows at home and abroad to recognise a Palestinian state. The British leader on Friday said his country would recognise a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action. Mr Trump on Friday dismissed French president Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognise a Palestinian state, an intention that also drew strong condemnation from Israel, after similar moves from Spain, Norway and Ireland last year. Mr Trump said he understood Mr Starmer wanted to discuss Israel, adding that while the US would increase its aid to Gaza, it wanted others to join the effort. Ukraine will also be on the agenda. Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, with aid groups warning of mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people. The war began on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas -led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials. It has reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population. - Reuters (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
Irish Times
35 minutes ago
- Irish Times
EU and US reach deal on 15% tariffs, averting potential trade war
The European Union and US have agreed a deal that will lock in tariffs of 15 per cent on most EU imports to the US, but prevent the prospect of an economically devastating trade war. The final terms of the deal were worked out during a meeting between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Sunday. The EU hopes the deal will draw a line under months of uncertainty, shifting deadlines, and threats of sweeping tariffs from Mr Trump, which had cast a shadow over the European economy. The commission, the EU's executive body, which is responsible for trade policy, had been scrambling to secure an agreement before an August 1st deadline. Mr Trump had threatened to triple import levies on nearly all trade coming from the EU if a deal was not done by then. READ MORE The accord effectively sees the EU accepting import taxes of 15 per cent on most of its huge volume of trade with the US. Speaking after the negotiations ended, Ms von der Leyen said the US had agreed to cap any future tariffs on pharmaceutical products at that rate. EU negotiators had pushed for limits to tariffs on pharma products to shield the sector from huge trade levies Mr Trump had threatened to put on the industry. The rate would also apply to cars, representing a cut on the current 25 per cent tariffs the European automobile sector has faced for months when selling cars to the US. The two sides agreed that no tariffs would be charged on imports of aircraft, certain chemicals and some agri-food goods, though the finer details of what agricultural products will benefit from these exemptions is still to be worked out. [ EU pushing to cap future tariffs on pharma in US deal Opens in new window ] Blanket tariffs of 15 per cent represent a serious economic blow to Ireland given its large volume of trade with the US. Finance officials will begin studying the likely impact on the State's economic projections and plans for October's budget. The Government is expected to seek firm assurances that the EU-US agreement will spare the pharma sector from tariffs of more than than 15 per cent. Mr Trump's plans to use tariffs to pressure pharmaceutical firms to move manufacturing capacity to the US has been a point of concern given that the industry accounts for much of the Republic's exports to the US. He previously said he was planning tariffs of 'up to 200 per cent' on the sector under a separate process. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the agreement would bring 'clarity and predictability' to the transatlantic relationship. 'We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here,' he said. Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris said that 'while Ireland regrets that the baseline tariff of 15 per cent is included in the agreement, it is important that we now have more certainty on the foundations of the EU-US trade relationship'. Negotiations between the US and EU camps had intensified in recent weeks. European Commission officials were confident they were on the cusp of a deal pending Mr Trump's approval. However, several sources in Dublin and Brussels said much had still hung on Sunday's face-to-face talks between Mr Trump and Ms von der Leyen. The deal includes EU commitments to purchase set amounts of US oil, nuclear power and liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually. Nearly all EU trade to the US has been charged tariffs of 10 per cent since early April, with imports of cars and steel facing higher levies.
