US President Donald Trump’s love for the spotlight is well known and since Trump loves to be on camera, it is only natural that he is highly conscious of his public image. His desire to make himself look good has often led to rather disastrous results involving makeup but that has not stopped him from trying to keep his appearance as prim and proper as possible.
Besides making his skin and hair look good, another one of Trump’s wishes regarding his looks came to light as he was speaking at the GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday. As he noticed photographers in the front seat taking his image, including Doug Mills of The New York Times, Trump said that they should take pictures in a way that would make him look thinner.
It is important to note here that Mills had won a Pulitzer Prize for taking astonishing images of the attempted assassination of Trump in 2024. Addressing him, Trump said, “Pulitzer Prize! Right there. Pulitzer Prize! He got one for the bullet. These are the ones that take the pictures. Make me look thin for a change, Doug. You’re making me look a little bit heavy. I’m not happy about it.”
Not the photographers’ fault https://t.co/EI8nukJYJK pic.twitter.com/oggK2CqUXd
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) January 6, 2026
However, internet was quick to respond as candid images of Trump that had been taken from less-than-flattering angles were uploaded on X, with the caption, “Not the photographers’ fault.” The post implied that Trump looked like whatever the images were showing and it was not possible for the photographers to magically make him look better.
It should be noted here that according to the result of Trump’s annual physical exam that was released back in April, the President is 6’ 3” and weighs 224 pounds. He is in the overweight category as per his BMI and his age and health are also another reason that often make him look tired and disheveled in his pictures.
Trump’s obsession with good pictures is nothing new. In October, he had a meltdown on Truth Social over his TIME Magazine cover. The picture was not exactly flattering as it was taken from a lower angle, which showed the drooping skin on his neck. His hair also did not look good and the image gave the illusion of his hair disappearing into the sky.
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Trump was understandably furious at the image and his Truth Social post read, “They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one. Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?”
Therefore, Trump’s request to Mills on Tuesday was nothing out of the ordinary. He has always wanted to look good and might not come to terms with the fact that signs of age and health would be noticeable after one point, regardless of the camera angle.
