24 Pics Of The Most Jarring Fake Tan Fails In MAGAland (So Far)

President Donald Trump's perpetually tan appearance has long puzzled and amused the world. While the White House once issued a statement to The New York Times officially claiming that Trump's tan is the result of "good genes," there are signs that it's anything but natural.

Rather, he's long been reported to wear self-tanner and makeup that often leaves him with an orange or even muddy complexion. What's more, he seems to frequently miss spots around his eyes and hairline, and his visage tends not to match his hands. "Because I have done Trump's makeup several times, I can tell you that, at times, his face looked bronzer than the rest of him, and that was before makeup," makeup artist Kriss Blevens claimed to Fast Company in 2024. "My guess was he relied on some self-tanners to try to maintain a certain look that he'd come to feel healthy in from living in Florida."

Trump's makeup and fake tan fails may raise eyebrows, but they haven't deterred others from following suit. From his cabinet members to Fox News hosts, the artificial sunbaked look has become one of the go-to looks in MAGAland. A fake tan can certainly work well on some people, but it can also be tricky to get just right. Unfortunately, many MAGAland folks have struggled to perfect the sun-kissed aesthetic. Some end up wearing the wrong shades of sunless tanner, foundation, and bronzer. Others miss spots or even entire limbs while applying the products. While some small fake tan blunders can fly under the radar, we've compiled the ones so jarring they're impossible to miss.

Donald Trump showed up at the New York State Unified Court on October 2, 2023, for the beginning of his civil fraud trial. The civil fraud case pointed to more than 200 instances of falsification of business records. After the first day in court, an unusually subdued-looking Trump spoke to the press, highlighting his rough fake tan. Large pale missed spots near his temple and ear were painfully visible, while the tan looked deeper and more haphazard than usual. It was almost as if he'd just indiscriminately smeared orange bronzer all over the front of his face.

As the White House press secretary for Donald Trump, Karoline Leavitt's fake tan fails have been on full display for all the world to see. Oh, and they were happening long before Trump's second term. In 2021, Leavitt launched her congressional campaign. While campaigning, she posed for a photo next to a car with an American flag and a "Karoline Congress" sticker.

She raised her arms to gesture toward the car, but in doing so revealed a classic fake tan mistake. Leavitt seemingly forgot to apply her self-tanner to her inner arm, leaving a noticeably pale arm that jarringly contrasted with the rest of her tanned body.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. seems to have taken up Donald Trump's trademark fake tan look since becoming the president's U.S. Secretary of Health. Evidently, tanning beds are a big part of his regimen. 

When RFK Jr. was still running his independent presidential campaign in 2024, he attended a rally in Oakland, California, where he looked like he either spent way too much time in a tanning bed or skipped important prep steps before applying self-tanner. He had a dark orange, almost reddish hue to his face. It was all the more apparent when he stood next to his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, who apparently hasn't sought out the sun-scorched tone for herself.

As previously noted, there has been a lot of chatter about Donald Trump's orange visage over the years, as it has sparked speculation about whether or not he uses self-tanner, bronzer, or a combination of products. Whatever the case, in November 2025, the orange tone of his face was particularly noticeable as he spoke with the press at the White House. In a shot where he gestured to the press from the doorway of the Oval Office, he looked almost sunburned. The area around his eyes, however, remained a lighter, almost whitish-pink hue.

To celebrate the Christmas season at the White House in 2020, Karoline Leavitt, who was serving as an assistant White House press secretary in Donald Trump's first administration, dressed to impress. Unfortunately, her sleeveless, form-fitting, glittery red gown only highlighted how uneven her fake tan was at this event. Leavitt's face looked more fair in tone, which was a startling contrast to her deep orange-bronze hue of her arms and chest. It's unclear if it was due to the lighting or her makeup, but her face appeared to be a completely different color from the rest of her body.

In early 2025, Lauren Boebert celebrated her swearing in as a congresswoman for Colorado's 4th Congressional District. She took to Instagram to commemorate the occasion with a family photo, as her mother, sons, and grandson showed up to support her on her special day. While everyone looked quite dapper for the family photo, Boebert and her mother's fake tans all but steal the show. And let us not forget the classic tell: hands that evidently missed the fake tan memo.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene showed up at the 2024 Republican National Convention to cheer on presidential nominee Donald Trump. For the event, she wore a form-fitting, red dress with ruffles on the torso. However, the sleeveless dress and bright lights at the Fiserv Forum put her bad tan job on display. Her face was a lighter and dewier hue, while her shoulders and chest was a deep matte tan. Up close and unfiltered, Greene couldn't hide her makeup fail that mismatched her face and body.

On January 6, 2025, Rep. Lauren Boebert took to Instagram to celebrate the certification of the 2024 presidential election. "It's an honor of a lifetime to be a part of certifying the election of President @realdonaldtrump and Vice President-elect @JDVance!" she wrote alongside a pic she took with Vice President JD Vance.

If Boebert was trying to channel Donald Trump for the event, she succeeded. Her skin boasted an unnatural orange glow, sharply contrasting with her white blouse and teeth. Between her MAGA hat and fake tan, she certainly looked right for the occasion.

Donald Trump reportedly prefers to apply his own makeup, but he apparently hasn't mastered blending — as evidenced by the numerous times his face has appeared splotchy and uneven. At the McDonald's Impact Summit, for example, Trump seemingly didn't try to even out his fake tan, as it looked far too thick and inconsistent. Between the patches of pale skin around the eyes and under the nose and the heavy, patchy tanner, Trump's bronze hue looked messier than usual.

Before becoming Donald Trump's secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem had to face the Senate committee for confirmation. A closeup photo of Noem during the hearing offered an unforgiving look at her harsh makeup.

Noem looked tense in the snapshot, with a stiff frown and wide eyes. Even more jarring was her failed attempt at a fake tan. Her makeup was far too thick and the wrong shade of carrot bronze, which made her skin tone and texture look unnatural and severe.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the United States ambassador to Greece, took to Instagram in February 2025 to wish Donald Trump a happy President's Day and share a photo of the two of them posing in front of two American flags. Trump's skin tone looked relatively natural for a change, but it only served to highlight Guilfoyle's jarring fake tan. She was more orange than the president in the photo, and the contrasting skin tones of her arm and face made the fake tan stand out even more. 

While Donald Trump is known for wearing what looks like orange makeup, it doesn't always show up as orange-orange. His tan looked particularly deep at the 2026 National Prayer Breakfast, especially against his white hair and the white button-down under his suit coat. Depending on the lighting, his skin was either a sunbaked orange or muddy hue.

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt has offered extensive supportive coverage of Donald Trump and, in September 2025, she and her co-hosts welcomed him on the show. Earhardt marked the occasion with an Instagram post, giving a thumbs up with Trump at the Fox & Friends studio while referring to the president as her "friend."

Trump boasted his usual orange hue, but Earhardt was also rocking her own spray tan. Rocking what appeared to be the same shade of citrus, the pair were like two peas in a pod — or should we say two tangerines?

Fox News host Jesse Watters is another television news personality who has embraced the fake tan look. However, if he's trying to go for a MAGAland orange vibe, he may need some makeup tips from the president. While covering the 2021 All-American Christmas Tree lighting, Watters' face was a brassy yellow shade of tan, rather than orange. It was especially obvious whenever his hands were in the frame.

Former competitive swimmer turned political activist Riley Gaines showed up to the premiere of the Daily Wire film "Lady Ballers" with a fake tan and glittery, silver dress. While posing with Paula Scanlan on the red carpet for the transphobic sports movie, Gaines' contrasting skin tones drew more attention than her dress.

Gaines missed the crucial step of ensuring her skin tone matched across her limbs and face. Her face appeared to be a much paler shade than her intensely tanned legs, and even her legs looked to be different shades of tan, as did the tops of her feet.

A few folks in MAGAland almost seem to be competing with Donald Trump for who can pull off the most citrusy look, including Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. When Kennedy and Trump stand side-by-side, they, indeed, seem to be having a battle of the orangest.

When the pair delivered a press conference from the White House in May 2025, they both looked like they'd been left in the air fryer a little too long. Trump went full Oompa Loompa, while Kennedy's reddish orange hue looked particularly harsh. 

Shortly after Donald Trump's second presidential term began, Rep. Lauren Boebert appeared on "Stinchfield Tonight" to discuss his return to office. Boebert shared clips of her appearance on Instagram, where she gushed about Trump liberating America from a "woke administration."

However, it was almost difficult to focus on what she said because of her deeply distracting fake tan. In one of the most jarring makeup blunders in MAGAland, Boebert's tan abruptly cuts off right below the collarbone. Her skin goes from tan to pink below the shoulders, in a bizarre skin tone shift that's impossible to miss.

Over the years, Donald Trump's fake tan has apparently failed to make its way to his hands. Recently, however, it seems Trump finally found the right shade of concealer for his hands as he attempted to cover up bruising. Unfortunately, he still can't seem to get his face and hands to match.

A recent photo captured Trump in the Oval Office, his hands folded on his desk. His hands were a dead giveaway for his fake tan as they contrast sharply with his face. Although his face looked tanned, the backs of his hands remained several shades lighter.

In 2023, the NRA awarded the then-governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, with the Distinguished Hunters' Leadership Award. She received the award at the NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum and posed afterward with several other hunters and conservationists, including Mark V. Peterson, for a photo.

Noem stood in the middle of the group wearing a long, blue, sleeveless dress and pointed-toe heels. However, her makeup did not hit the mark. In the lighting at the forum, Noem's face appeared almost washed out, whereas her legs and arms boasted a deep orange tan. She borderline looked like she was wearing suntan tights — which she could've been — but we can't explain away the shade of her arms.

In 2022, the same year she lost the United States House of Representatives race in New Hampshire, Karoline Leavitt shared a family photo to commemorate her older brother's wedding. She posed with her parents and brothers, wearing a very springtime-esque light green sleeveless dress with a bow at the waist. Unfortunately, the pastel green clashed with her orange tan. What's more, the tan looked all the more artificial next to her family members' arguably more natural skin tones.

A person's unnatural tan is difficult to ignore when said person is surrounded by people who haven't gotten into fake tanning, or at least by people who have a lighter hand when it comes to their fake tan. While waiting on the White House lawn for Donald Trump with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s fake tan was on full display. As previously noted, RFK Jr.'s tan often looks red-orange rather than just orange, and this moment was no exception.

Shortly after entering office for his second Presidential term, Donald Trump signed an anti-trans bill attempting to ban transgender women and girls from participating in women's and girls' sports at every competitive level. Riley Gaines showed up to the White House for the bill signing, stopping to pose with Karoline Leavitt for a photo.

Which brings us to Gaines' fake tan. Compared to Leavitt, Gaines looked downright orange at this event. For once, Gaines seemed to have even out-oranged Trump with her jarring, intense tan.

Even after he stepped down from his post as the press secretary during Donald Trump's first presidential term, Sean Spicer apparently continued to embrace the orange look. During his controversial stint on "Dancing with the Stars," Spicer's complexion looked particularly unnatural.

Spicer's fake tan wasn't a new development, as he reportedly underwent a whole Trump-approved makeover as press secretary. However, this deep, orangey tan kicked things up several notches.

Donald Trump attended the 2025 State Department Kennedy Center Honors Medal Presentation Dinner, presenting medals and delivering a few remarks. He was dressed more dapper than usual in a black coat, white button-down dress shirt, and bow tie. However, the suit and lighting didn't do any favors for his fake tan.

Trump's orange hue was even more noticeable than usual, giving him an almost carrot-like glow. One photo caught him mid-yell, with his mouth open and eyes squinting. If one did not know better, they might think the president was in the middle of transforming into an orange version of the Hulk.