Trump Accidentally Outs His Best-Kept Secret After Sunbathing Comment Blows Up In His Face

The infamously unique orange-y hue of Donald Trump's face may be one of his most recognizable attributes. Over time, we have gotten so used to his bizarrely bronzed look that many of us have stopped questioning why he actually looks that way. Trump's tan has drastically evolved since he was elected president for the first time in 2016, and lately, his tan seems to be reaching new levels of absurdity. So, is he spending more time in the sun? Has he discovered a new favorite self tanner? Did he take a bronzer recommendation from his Oompa Loompa friend? It seems like we finally have a clue — right from the source, himself.

As a part of their visit to the U.S., the leaders of some African nations sat down with Trump for a multilateral lunch at the White House on July 9. During the meeting, Trump fielded questions from members of the press. Fox News' Peter Doocy asked Trump about a threatening joke made by Mohammad-Javad Larijani, an advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that same day. "Trump can no longer sunbathe in Mar-A-Lago, because while he's lying down, a micro-drone might target and strike him right in the navel," Larijani said with a laugh during an appearance on Iranian TV, per Newsweek. Doocy took this opportunity to ask what he surely thought was a softball question: "When was the last time you went sunbathing, anyway?" (via The White House) Trump's answer? He doesn't. 

"Been a long time ... It's been a long time," Donald Trump said with a smirk stretched across his aggressively tanned skin when asked about when he last sunbathed. "I don't know. Maybe I was around seven or so. I'm not too big into it," he added. Peter Doocy also asked if Trump believed Mohammad-Javad Larijani's threat was real, to which Trump seemed deeply unsure. "Yeah. I guess it's a threat. I'm not sure it's a threat, actually, but it — perhaps it is," he said. So, when it comes to whether or not Trump is likely to be hit in the belly button with a drone while sunbathing anytime soon, he has absolutely no idea. Does he sunbathe, though? Not in the past 72 years. Got it...

REPORTER: Do you expect any of the countries here to face tariffs?

TRUMP: I haven't thought of it, but maybe, I don't know. Let's see, I like him, him, him, him, and him. No, I don't think so. These are friends of mine now. pic.twitter.com/zMGMXvR6vg

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 9, 2025

Despite the confusing nature of Trump's response, he didn't mince words about his longstanding disinterest in suntanning, which unsurprisingly caught the attention of folks on X. "Nope, just big on putting shoe polish on my face," one X-user joked about Trump's response. "Spray tanning takes less effort," wrote another with laughing emojis, while one asked, "Who needs to sunbathe when you can just faceplant into a bowl of terracotta dust every morning?" Surely most of us had a hunch that Trump's infamous carrot color was a case of botched bronzer, but this is seemingly definitive confirmation that the most orange U.S. president prefers applying makeup to catching rays.