President Donald Trump walked onto the tarmac with his shirt collar open, and the cameras found the exact spot where his makeup stopped.
Trump, 80, took brief questions from reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, before boarding Air Force One, wearing a dress shirt with the collar open and no necktie — and the gap exposed a sharp line where the color on his face ended and his paler neck began.
Chip Somodevilla of Getty Images and Kent Nishimura of AFP via Getty Images photographed the contrast. The pictures also caught his right hand, which carried a large patch of ill-matched cover-up as he answered questions on the tarmac.
Why Both Hands Undercut the Story
The White House has repeatedly given the same explanation for the bruising on Trump’s hands: frequent handshaking combined with his use of aspirin. That account does not address photographs showing bruising on both hands.
Presidential physician Sean Barbabella attributed earlier minor bruising to the same handshakes-plus-aspirin combination in a memorandum dated July 17, 2025. Trump has used cosmetics regularly on the tops of his frequently bruised hands since returning for a second term.
The Same Band of Color in Lubbock
Trump flew that day to two Texas campaign rallies, in Corpus Christi and Lubbock. Hours after the tarmac appearance, the same band of color showed around his neck at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
Reuters photographers Kaylee Greenlee and Kevin Lamarque captured the rally. In their images, Trump leans toward state Attorney General Ken Paxton with a lighter area at his hairline, and his eyes, brow and chin lack full coverage.
He was campaigning in Lubbock for incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and for Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate.
Why Texas Was Worth the Trip
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll released Oct. 14 put Democrat James Talarico at 50% to Paxton’s 47% in the Senate race. In the governor’s contest, Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa led Abbott 49% to 48%.
The survey of 861 likely voters ran from Sept. 25 through Oct. 5 and carried a margin of error of 3.34 points. Both races are tight enough to justify the travel.
Trump returned to the White House from a rally in Corinth, Miss., just before midnight Monday, Oct. 26, and was back aboard Air Force One the next morning. The trip was part of a stretch of rallies nearly every day as Republicans fight to hold their House and Senate majorities.
Before boarding on Oct. 27, he voiced confidence in Paxton and took questions about the Nov. 3 elections. Asked how he would work with Democrats should they win control of a chamber, he cited his veto power.
“I Wear Very Little”
Trump had mocked a Democratic senator’s cosmetics spending earlier in the month. At an Oct. 16 rally at Dalton Municipal Airport in Dalton, Ga., he went after Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., over his campaign’s spending on professional makeup services.
Miming the application with his hands, Trump said: “Jon Ossoff has spent more money on makeup, and by the way I wear very little and I do it myself.”
The Ossoff campaign has paid Atlanta-based makeup artist Stephanie Ponder nearly $3,000, with later totals exceeding $4,600, for makeup services since February 2026. Trump was in Dalton campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial hopeful Rick Jackson.
Half-Moons Under the Eyes
Writers have noted Trump’s complexion for years, the product of a long reliance on a mix of tanning, bronzer and makeup. Kriss Blevens, a professional makeup artist who has prepped every president since Jimmy Carter, has said his face is sometimes darker than the rest of him before any product is applied, which she attributed to self-tanners.
Former FBI Director James Comey wrote in his 2018 book “A Higher Loyalty” that Trump’s “face appeared slightly orange, with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles.”
Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed in her 2018 memoir “Unhinged” that Trump fired a staff member for improperly setting up a White House tanning bed. David Smith, Trump’s former military academy roommate, recalled Elvis Presley and Johnny Mathis albums playing before an ultraviolet light bulb was screwed into an overhead socket and Trump lay down for a tan.