Why Is Everyone In Trump World So Absurdly Tan? An Investigation.

There’s two loyalty tests people seemingly have to pass before becoming part of Trump world: First, they must consume lots of McDonalds, President-elect Donald Trump’s fast-food meal of choice. Second, they better be spray tanned.

Not even Steve Bannon is immune. Last week, the former Trump adviser learned that his criminal fraud trial would be delayed until after the president-elect is back in office. In the courtroom, the normally pale Bannon looked unseasonably tan, sporting a bronze layer that would make even his former boss envious. (Some noted that Bannon came out of prison last month looking that swarthy. Perhaps a visitor snuck in some Jergens Natural Glow.)

Other tan acolytes? Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. seems to be full-bodied tan ― maybe something more akin to red-hued. (We know this because he’s been photographed shirtless on more than one occasion.)

Then there’s Matt Gaetz, the former Republican representative who just withdrew his nomination to serve as Trump’s attorney general. Giving a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Gaetz sported a Day-Glo tan, and judging by his snatched forehead, perhaps a little fresh Botox, some suspected.

Could the new looks be Trump-inspired or even recommended? It’s not a stretch. The president elect ― mega tan himself ― reportedly takes a keen interest in his team’s physical appearance and how it reflects on him: Sean Spicer, his onetime press secretary, reportedly underwent a Trump-approved makeover after wearing one too many gray oversized suits at White House press conferences during Trump’s first term.

Luckily for Trump Cabinet pick Pete Hegseth, he’s coming in already tan and telegenic, having perfected the look working at Fox News for years.

“I think all this embracing of self-tan and makeup is squarely for an audience of one: Donald Trump,” said Andrea Purse, a communications consultant and media trainer.

“Trump has always fully embraced made-for-TV aesthetics, which often look good on camera but look odd in real life,” she said.

“It seems like more and more members of the Trump team have embraced Trump’s ‘look’ in order to please their leader. And it seems to be working for them when it comes to being close to the center of power,” she said.

How does the man himself achieve that iconic orange hue?

Ousted White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman revealed in her 2018 memoir “Unhinged” that Trump uses a tanning bed daily. She claimed a White House usher was fired over her mishandling of the tanning bed’s transportation to the White House.

A 2019 Washington Post report based on conversations the paper had with 48 people who had “worked illegally for The Trump Organization,” included an admission from a housekeeper that Trump relies on Bronx Colors-brand face makeup from Switzerland to give him his patented look.

A senior Trump administration official denied such claims, telling The New York Times in 2019 that the businessman’s glow even in the pale of a D.C. winter is just the result of “good genes.”

Kriss Blevens, a long-time makeup artist for politicians, has worked on Trump and said he does like a little bronzer for a more warmed up appearance.

“He asked for more bronzer and I had a talk with him about trusting me,” she told HuffPost.

“I have hard and fast rules when it comes to bronze: Bring the skin up an octave and blend it to absolute perfection,” Blevens said. “No more and no less or it looks ‘fake baked.’”

Case in point? Back in February 2020, a gust of wind blew into Trump’s face and hair as he was photographed walking across the White House South Lawn, revealing where the bronzer or foundation application stopped. (“More Fake News,” Trump tweeted as the pics went viral on social media. “This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean!”)

Why put so much effort into appearing tan? Because a healthy glow communicates a lot: youth and vitality, sure, but also having enough leisure time to spend out on the golf course or beach, getting that sun-kissed look.

“For Trump and RFK, I think they intentionally began to tan themselves, likely without bronzer, and liked what they saw,” said Misha Lewis, a makeup artist and owner of Misha Renee Artistry in D.C. “But then tan started to become overdone, whether real or sprayed on, and now they probably can’t imagine themselves without the color in their skin.”

“I’d liken it to when women began having Botox and fillers, and in the beginning it looks great, but as they age they want more and more and then someone goes too far and they look completely unlike themselves,” she said.

Of course, it’s not just Trump Republicans that favor the freshly basted look. White guy Democrats Josh Shapiro and Gavin Newsom looked mighty tan while campaigning in support of Vice President Kamala Harris this fall, too.

It’s part of a general trend of men being more receptive to a little bronzer or a little concealer to cover up those bags under the eyes, Lewis said.

Though she wouldn’t divulge details on makeup requests, Lewis has worked on everyone from President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Raphael Warnock, to John McCain, Newt Gingrich and Vice President-elect JD Vance, around the time his book “Hillbilly Elegy” came out. (For what it’s worth, another makeup artist who has worked with Sanders said that in 2016, his requirements were “don’t touch his hair, [use] very little makeup and make sure his suit is free of dust and lint.”)

“I think in the last four years, men have begun to realize that they too needed to do some maintenance in their appearance,” Lewis said. “My experience years ago was men being a little hesitant about wearing makeup, especially when I was at the Al-Jazeera network.”

“Back then I got so tired of trying to convince male politicians that they needed to be camera ready as to not be a distraction to their segment that I coined the phrase, ‘The camera has no friends and you won’t be the first.’ In 2024, most men don’t have to be convinced,” she said.

The best makeup work is the makeup no one notices, said Nina Shyne, a makeup artist for film and TV who has also worked with political figures.

“Using makeup, especially on men who are trying to get a message across and give an impression, can make a difference in how the audience remembers them, but it has to be skilled work,” she said.

There is an art to creating a subtle tan that seems to be ignored by certain political figures on the right, said Tiffany Torres Williams, a photographer who often works with Syne.

“A skilled makeup artist will use contouring, which is the process of using bronzer and highlighter to create shadows and highlights on the face to give a chiseled youthful effect that looks gorgeous on camera,” she said.

What often happens instead is that clients try to spray tan their way to vitality, which actually has the opposite effect, she said.

“Spray tans can settle into a person’s wrinkles and skin folds, emphasizing their age rather than drawing attention away,” she explained. “It’s easy to go too heavy or too dark, and no one wants their skin to look like deep fried chicken.”

The platonic ideal is a subtle, healthy-looking glow, Blevens said. “You want it to confidently convey, ‘I’m working hard, but I have time for life balance, and I can truly handle it all,’” she said.

Then there’s the opposite problem: using too little makeup. When a makeup artist doesn’t add enough color to a person’s complexion, they may come off as washed out when the bright lights hit them on a TV set or in a press conference.

That may have been what happened to Biden during his botched debate with Trump in June: Compared to Trump, many noted that Biden looked pale and pallid.

The marked difference between the two called to mind how visuals alone cost Richard Nixon quite a bit in his 1960 presidential debate against John F. Kennedy, who went on to win the presidency. It was the first televised debate ever in the U.S., and like Biden, Nixon showed up to the event recovering from a cold. Nixon appeared ashen and sweaty on TV, not to mention a little stilted, at least compared to the smooth, almost movie-star-esque Kennedy. Though he looked older, Nixon was actually only four years older than his TV-ready Democratic rival.

As for Biden, his pale look is not what hurt him during the debate ― Democrats and Republicans agreed that it was an overall abysmal performance ― but it didn’t do him any favors, either, said Danielle Austin, a makeup artist in Wellesley, Massachusetts, who has worked with politicians.

“America’s concern for his health was such a hot topic at the time,” she said.

Lewis agrees: Whoever did Biden’s makeup that night failed to deliver.

“It’s always the responsibility of the makeup artist to find a true color monitor to see the lighting and ensure that the person is camera ready and looks good,” she said. “As the president of the U.S., there’s no way Biden should’ve been able to go out there looking the way. It was a huge and costly snafu.”

Days later, Biden’s glam team made sure his makeup or bronzer was shellacked while he spoke to the American public about the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity.

At age 78, Trump is probably hyper aware of the need to look youthful; a foundation-less day could result in some similarly disparaging remarks about him “looking his age” or being too advanced in age for office.

Whatever his beauty routine, Carla Pressley, a makeup artist in D.C., thinks that Trump probably feels like he can’t stop now. (Pressley suspects Trump uses liquid or cream foundation plus a bit of powder.)

“I imagine the day they don’t bronze or tan him, the world will assume something is wrong,” she said. “We’ve all been there when we haven’t done our normal routine: ‘You look tired,’ ‘Did you get any sleep last night?’ Imagine that on a bigger scale.”

Oliver Mayer, the associate dean of faculty at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, thinks that Trump’s tan is part of his shtick at this point, similar to his tendency to reference huge, abstract figures ― “millions and millions,” “billions and billions” ― or his sweeping use of “everyone agrees.”

“The weird thing about Trump’s tan is that it is so obviously sprayed on, and his denials about it have the wink-wink, nudge-nudge, quality of so much of his schtick,” he said.

As for his equally tanned acolytes, Mayer thinks they’re all playing a game of copycat.

“In another way, their skin-color choice is a kind of gang color or tattoo representing their class, wealth and leisure,” he said. “It’s all a show.”