Candid Snaps Of Donald Trump Without Makeup At Mar-A-Lago Are So Haunting The List
When Donald Trump stepped out without his trademark orange tan at Mar-a-Lago, his no-makeup, natural look was surprising and made us do a double-take.
By May 22, 2025 2:30 pm EST
Donald Trump has always understood the importance and power of spectacle and keeping up appearances. This is why every time he's out in public, he's got a vibrant orange tan, and he's wearing high-priced suits with mile-long ties that make him look like some sort of business emperor. His heavy make-up and his obsession with bronzer is so ingrained in the public image of who he is that every makeup-free snapshot of Trump that surfaces is jarring, and almost haunting.
Snapshots showing Trump, sans makeup, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, have given us another glimpse of what the president looks like pre-glam, and it's sort of uncanny. In the photo, which was posted to XÂ on May 15, 2025, Trump can be seen rocking a white polo tucked into black slacks and wearing a red MAGA ball cap over his age-appropriate white hair. He casually rests his hands on his hips while chatting with two guests at the resort, and looks like everyone's great-uncle who is fine to invite to Thanksgiving dinner as long as no one brings up politics.
What is unexpected is how casual he looks, with a skin tone that isn't even quite as pale as one might assume (although other glimpses of his true skin tone seem to show it's about the same shade as his bleached hair). It begs the question of why Trump piles on so much orange makeup in the first place. Regardless, seeing the president casually sauntering around his Florida resort without his trademark look is truly surprising.
Keeping up appearances must be exhausting for the president, who was elected to the presidency a second time at 78. This is likely why he's had so many embarrassing makeup fails over the past few years, and why he wants to take things easy when he's at home, so to speak. So, he ditches the terrible fake tans he's known for and embraces his natural skin tone and white polos when holding court among guests at the luxury resort.
Left-wing reporter Ron Filipkowski showcased Trump's vastly different no-makeup look in a snapshot he posted to X on November 11, 2024, just days after Trump's election victory. In the photo, Trump's former bestie Elon Musk appears to be running some important business meeting, while Trump casually leans back in his chair staring at his phone and generally appearing detached. Filipkowski captioned the pic, "Yup, this is about right. Trump as a figurehead president while Elon runs the show."
While Trump's bromance with Musk wilted on the vine during his first few months in office, one thing that hasn't changed is just how unnatural Trump looks when he's au naturel. A relaxed Trump casually scrolling through unhinged Truth Social posts or playing Candy Crush on his phone, without any makeup on, is so off-brand for what people have come to expect that it feels wrong somehow. It feels like a glimpse of the person who exists under the weight of the public persona he's concocted for himself in the years since throwing his hat in the political ring.