Riley Gaines' Cringey 'Republican Makeup' Was On Full Display During Fox News Appearance

"Republican makeup" has trended on social media, seemingly inspired by the likes of Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle. And the latest MAGA influencer to get on board with the not very flattering makeup trend is Riley Gaines. Gaines was a college swimmer who has perhaps most famously finished in fifth place, tying with a transgender athlete in 2022. Gaines has taken her outrage over competing against a trans athlete and made it into a veritable career, and she's become a mainstay on right wing talk shows.

In an appearance on Fox News in February 2026, Gaines showed up with a face full of makeup that would have made more sense at a Mar-a-Lago dinner. She had overly lined eyes, too much mascara, heavy eyebrows, flat foundation, and a frosted lipstick.

Gaines: I believe that words like compassion, empathy, inclusion, and love have been weaponized against us. pic.twitter.com/jG0CR7YZy3

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 1, 2026

We've seen Gaines wear some awful outfits, and she's now added bad makeup to her list of fails. What's the most baffling and awkward for her is that our assumption is that there was someone helping her with her hair and makeup. And this is the look that got approved? Does the makeup person secretly hate Gaines? Why would they do this to her? Why would she do it to herself?

We weren't the only people to notice Riley Gaines' MAGA makeup and just how bad it looked during her appearance on Fox News. Social media critics came after her. One person on X (formerly known as Twitter) said: "can't believe you go out on national TV looking like this!" Another quipped, "it looks like her makeup artist also came in 5th place." And one person posted: "Riley Gaines constantly looks as if she is being dressed for her own funeral. Straight mortuary makeup."

Other people had thoughts about her hair. "The face framing layers to hide that her face is too small for her head," via X. Gaines doesn't quite have the overly long and expensive hair extensions that some MAGA women like Kristi Noem have, and we applaud her for that. But we're not loving the half up, half down hair with the layers that look like she's halfway through getting ready for prom in the 1990s.