An unbuttoned collar and a missing necktie gave photographers at Joint Base Andrews a clear view of exactly where President Donald Trump’s makeup stops.
Trump, 80, skipped the tie and left his dress shirt collar open as he spoke briefly with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, on his way to two Texas campaign rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock.
The open collar exposed a sharp line where the makeup on his face ended and his paler neck began — a contrast captured by photographers including Chip Somodevilla of Getty Images and Kent Nishimura of AFP via Getty Images. His right hand told a similar story, carrying a large patch of ill-matched cover-up as he answered questions on the tarmac.
The White House has repeatedly attributed the bruises on his hands to frequent handshaking while taking aspirin, an explanation that does not account for the times he has been photographed with bruising on both hands. In a memorandum dated July 17, 2025, presidential physician Sean Barbabella attributed earlier minor bruising to the same combination of handshakes and aspirin.
The Line Followed Him to Lubbock
Hours later, at Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, the same band of color sat around his neck as he campaigned for incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate. When Trump leaned toward Paxton, a lighter area showed at his hairline, and his eyes, brow and chin lacked full coverage, as seen in Reuters photographs by Kaylee Greenlee and Kevin Lamarque.
The pace behind the appearance is punishing. Trump got back to the White House from a rally in Corinth, Miss., just before midnight Monday, Oct. 26, then climbed aboard Air Force One again the next morning, part of a stretch of rallies nearly every day as Republicans fight to hold their majorities in the House and Senate.
He Says He Does It Himself
The makeup question is one Trump raised himself. At an Oct. 16 rally at Dalton Municipal Airport in Dalton, Ga., where he campaigned for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial hopeful Rick Jackson, he needled Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., over his campaign’s spending on professional makeup services.
“Jon Ossoff has spent more money on makeup, and by the way I wear very little and I do it myself,” Trump said, miming the application with his hands. Ossoff’s campaign has paid Atlanta-based makeup artist Stephanie Ponder nearly $3,000, with later totals exceeding $4,600, for makeup services since February 2026.
A Makeup Artist Offers Her Theory
Trump has long relied on a mix of tanning, bronzer and makeup for his signature look, and he has regularly used cosmetics to cover the tops of his frequently bruised hands since returning for a second term. Kriss Blevens, a professional makeup artist who has prepped every president since Jimmy Carter, has said that his face sometimes appeared bronzer than the rest of him before any product went on, and she attributed that to self-tanners.
Writers have been noting the complexion for years. Former FBI Director James Comey, in his 2018 book “A Higher Loyalty,” wrote that Trump’s “face appeared slightly orange, with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles.” In her 2018 memoir “Unhinged,” former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed Trump fired a staff member for improperly setting up a White House tanning bed. The habit started early: his former military academy roommate, David Smith, has recalled Trump playing Elvis Presley and Johnny Mathis albums before screwing an ultraviolet light bulb into the overhead socket to lie down for a tan.
The Races That Pulled Him to Texas
Both Texas contests are tight enough to justify the travel. A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released Oct. 14 put Democrat James Talarico at 50 percent to Paxton’s 47 percent, and Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa at 49 percent to Abbott’s 48 percent. The survey of 861 likely voters was conducted Sept. 25 through Oct. 5, with a margin of error of 3.34 points.
Before he boarded, Trump voiced confidence in Paxton and took questions about the Nov. 3 elections, pointing to his veto power when asked how he would work with Democrats should they win control of a chamber. He has one week of rallies left to make the case.
