- Joe Biden may have taken a cue from Donald Trump when it comes to his tan.
- The president has appeared very tanned in his recent appearances.
- He wasn’t always this orange, and he certainly wasn’t during his disastrous CNN debate with Trump.
If you think President Joe Biden looks a lot more orange, you’re not alone.
Biden’s complexion has changed considerably since he began his term, with his skin now emitting a Trump-like glow.
The orange hue appeared even more striking during his Friday interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
On July 4, he appeared tanner than usual as he spoke from the South Lawn of the White House.
The deep tan was evident in several photos from the event.
Biden’s orange glow was also apparent on July 3, when he awarded the Medal of Honor to two Civil War soldiers.
The same thing happened on July 1, when he spoke to the media at the White House after the Supreme Court’s decision on the charges against former President Donald Trump.
And the change seems recent. The 81-year-old president wasn’t quite as orange when he began his term in 2020.
For example, during his speech at the UN climate change conference COP26 in Scotland in November 2021, his face showed no signs of artificial tanning.
Biden has appeared slightly tanner in the summer, as one does when the sun is shining. He was slightly tanned during a June 2023 speech on affirmative action in higher education. But Biden’s super-orange moments have been few and far between.
The change in his face has sparked memes and jokes on social media, with X-rated users calling him “BidenPumpkinHead” and “Spray Tan Joe.”
“Next time Joe, let a sorority girl from Alabama apply your spray tan,” another X user posted on July 1.
Moira Coops, a veteran makeup artist and stylist who has worked with numerous politicians and CEOs, told Business Insider that Biden’s orange hue was more likely due to makeup than a spray tan.
She said people Biden’s age, especially when they’re not feeling well or haven’t seen the sun in a while, tend to have pale skin. Biden’s team likely tanned him to make him look “healthier,” she added.
But the makeup was “a little too strong” for her taste, Coops said, adding that Biden’s makeup team “could have gone down a shade.”
If Biden has had an image makeover, it is fairly recent. His face was a completely different color during his debate with Trump on June 27.
In front of CNN’s cameras, his face appeared pale, which, combined with his slurred speech and slurred lines, raised concerns about his fitness to run for re-election.
After the debate, anonymous sources told Politico that the Biden family expressed anger over the president’s appearance on camera, accusing the network’s makeup artists of making him look too pale and drawn.
Of course, Trump is also known for his propensity for tanning.
“I know exactly what he’s doing: the tanning bed, the spray tan, he’s wearing goggles and you can see the hyperpigmentation around his eyes,” Jason Kelly, a Cleveland-based makeup artist who was hired to work the 2016 Republican National Convention, told Harper’s Bazaar in June 2016.
Trump’s deep tan has also been used against him by his critics. His former accomplice, Michael Cohen, once called him a “cartoon villain covered in Cheetos.”
Biden representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment sent outside of normal business hours.
