Kayleigh McEnany's Fake Tan Fail Will Haunt Her Forever

There's nothing wrong with a good ol' fake tan, but anyone who's ever tried self-tanning lotion knows that it can be a tricky thing to get right. Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is living proof of this. McEnany has had her fair share of makeup fails, and some of the former Trump staffer's outfits have completely missed the mark too, but while interviewing conservative political commentator Benny Johnson in December 2025, it was her fake tan mishap that caught people's eye. McEnany sported an orange skin tone reminiscent of President Donald Trump's while conducting the interview, and even her hands appeared to have been covered with fake tan lotion. The TV personality's feet and ankles, however, were apparently overlooked when the product was applied. McEnany wore ankle-grazing trousers with high heels, putting her pale feet on full display. It was an awkward look for television, and unfortunately, an instantly memorable slip-up. 

Neglecting the feet and ankles is actually a pretty common mistake when applying self-tanning products. Spray tanning expert Jimmy Coco, who has curated the glow of A-list celebs like the Kardashians, warned Cosmopolitan UK that it's crucial that those with a lighter skin tone are conservative when applying the product, lest they end up looking tangerine. It appears McEnany was a little too keen when she applied her own self-tanning product. Coco similarly noted that self-tanner should also be carefully applied around the feet and ankles. "Remember to dry exfoliate your entire body. Pay special attention to areas such as the heels of the feet and elbows," he advised. The former White House staffer either didn't apply any product to her ankles and feet, or she applied so much to the rest of her body that there was nothing left by the time McEnany got to her lower extremities. 

Although Donald Trump once branded former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany with a brutal nickname, that hasn't deterred her from continuing to offer the divisive leader her unwavering support. While she no longer works for Trump, McEnany's orange tan, regardless of its flaws, seemed to silently signal that she is still very much in his corner. Almost everyone in Trump's inner circle has drenched themselves in some sort of orange product to match their boss' signature tangerine tone — even the men. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Karoline Leavitt —the list goes on.

In fact, the only member of the Trump faithful who hasn't fallen prey to the exaggerated MAGA aesthetics is White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. McEnany's apparent eagerness to impress her former boss arguably also demonstrates just how much sway an orange tan has with the divisive leader. Makeup experts have discussed it at length, and Oliver Mayer, the associate dean of faculty at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, proclaimed to HuffPost that, while MAGA diehards all look the same, there's a purpose behind their behavior. 

"Their skin-color choice is a kind of gang color or tattoo representing their class, wealth and leisure," he pointed out. "It's all a show." McEnany sure is keeping that show going. She has continued to champion Trump throughout his second term, praising the president's efforts to lower the cost of living for everyday Americans in 2025, even after he called affordability a "hoax" (via NPR) as he does everything he cannot fix. Ignoring this completely, McEnany touted Trump's work to bring down prices, urging Republicans to brag about it some more.