The Paper of Record, chasing the important stories…
Trump's perma-tan is the result of “good genes,” according to a senior administration official who would speak only on the condition of anonymity. https://t.co/Tu6LCCBbjo
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) February 2, 2019
… Mr. Trump’s former boarding school classmates have described him as a fan of ultraviolet rays, someone who would pop a tanning bulb into a light socket to go “to the beach.” Even James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director turned presidential foe, speculated on Mr. Trump’s glow. The president’s “face appeared slightly orange,” Mr. Comey wrote in his memoir, “with bright white half-moons under his eyes where I assumed he placed small tanning goggles.”
But according to three people who have spent time in the White House residence, no such bed or spray-tan booth exists in a hidden nook of the residence, a cranny of the East Wing or a closet on Air Force One. Two senior White House officials insisted that no such apparatus exists…
Aside from a tanning bed, another plausible theory is that Mr. Trump uses self-tanning creams or lotions. Dr. Tina Alster, a top Washington dermatologist who said she had treated officials in every White House, including this one, posited that the president, whom she does not treat, was using tanning creams or sprays to achieve his look…
Certainly Mr. Trump, who has long taken antibiotics to treat rosacea, a condition that can make the skin appear rosy and ruddy, is attentive to how he looks on television. He has complained that his skin and hair appear too yellow or orange on the screen, according to one person familiar with his views.
As a result, events in the White House are now more dimly lit than in previous administrations. The president has also become a fan of natural light, like the setting of the White House Rose Garden, where Mr. Trump chose to announce the end of the government shutdown in 40-degree weather…
Assuming the Big Macs or Mueller’s minions don’t carry him off before then, we’ve got some more prime body-shaming opportunities to look forward to next week…
Curious if the fittest president in history will once again clock in at a svelte 239 when we all know he's pushing three bills. https://t.co/0UWMXGAnfY
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 2, 2019
“Pushing” 300 pounds? From which direction?
Keith P.
And just to note – Trump has appointed Dr. Ronnie Jackson as his medical advisor right as the physical rolls around again.
Sister Golden Bear
The “good genes” must be Oompa Loompa genes.
Mary G
@Sister Golden Bear:
LOL ?
Geoduck
Always remember with Rick Wilson: as amusing as his anti-Trump slagging is, he is a Republican, and once the Shaitgibbon is gone, he’ll be right back giving tongue-baths to whoever the new GOP standard-bearer is.
sukabi
@Keith P.: really? Thought he was “retired”
Eljai
Certainly Mr. Trump, who has long taken antibiotics to treat rosacea, a condition that can make the skin appear rosy and ruddy, is attentive to how he looks on television.
StringOnAStick
@Keith P.: @Keith P.: I’m assuming Jackson’s career will be saved, if only temporarily, by being tRump ‘s hired doctor-liar. I’m a bit surprised he’s still on staff given what he was accused of, but we know the kind of people tRump prefers to hire.
sukabi
@sukabi: I guess drumpf couldn’t find another dr. he could blackmail / bribe into declaring him a perfect specimen of man meat.
Mike in Pasadena
Orange pork? Ewww
Eljai
Well, my block quote went awry and I can’t fix it.
Millard Filmore
@Eljai:
Those of us with the best brains figured it out.
NotMax
Mae West, when she was the same age, was less obvious in her use and application of cosmetics.
;)
JPL
@Keith P.: I totally missed that. Trump is correct if your president they let you do that. Why bother to have a physical at all. Just fill out the paperwork.
rikyrah
@Keith P.:
Absolutely ridiculous??
Chet
“Good genes”?
He really does think he’s the master race.
NotMax
@rikyrah
Healthiest person since Adam.
– R. Jackson, M.D.
“Can I have my bottle back now?”
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Keith P.: Wait, he still has a licence to practice medicine after allegations of drinking on the job?
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
According to the article @sukabi linked to, Jackson is actually still under investigation:
Keith P.
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh, he’s currently under investigation, but Trump likely feels comfortable knowing he’ll get a rave review as the world’s fittest man from Dr. Ronnie. Hell, he might even find some other position to nominate him for and force Mitch to go to the mat for him.
horaitus
@Eljai: Also excessive use of antibiotics causes weight gain.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@SiubhanDuinne: Apparently they’re not investigating very hard.
tybee
pushing 300? more like dragging it, kicking and screaming behind him.
Ken
Most likely Trump. If not, someone who realizes that spouting such nonsense could be detrimental to their reputation and career (i.e. not Sarah Huckabee-Sanders).
mere mortal
From near the surface of the earth, downward.
That’s just science.
Mousebumples
@Eljai: Who does that? Especially, with everything we know about the dangers of long-term use of antibiotics? I know it’s silly of me to glom onto this when there are so many other norms that he’s broken. I guess this is just one more. Jesus.
**
As a pharmacist, I know that regular antibiotics are commonly prescribed for acne and rosacea, among other conditions. And a one off line that says ‘long term use” without more details isn’t helpful or descriptive. Maybe he’s been taking them for a few years, maybe it’s been a few decades. (the latter would be more of a concern) For skin conditions caused by a bacteria, sometimes there aren’t other choices for keeping the condition under control.
(damn, I cannot believe I’m defending Trump in any fashion!)
Nicole
@Mousebumples:
Ha! As someone with rosacea, I started typing a long reply to the earlier comment, but as the balloon-juice site uses a lot of energy my computer sometimes helpfully “reloads” for me, and I lost what I was typing. You said it better and more succinctly than I did.
For what it’s worth, I googled, and an article from January of 2018 about Trump’s medications said he was using a prescription cream for rosacea. I’m guessing he’s using metronidazole, which is an antibiotic, but in the case of a cream is safe and intended for long-term use. So I chalk this up to the NYTimes using bad phrasing and making it sound like it’s an oral because they have a lot of lazy writers.
I hate that I’m defending him too, over anything, but rosacea does suck and can be really demoralizing. It does now make sense to me why he avoids alcohol and exercise, as they are both big triggers for most people who have rosacea.
JGabriel
Catherine Rampell via Anne Laurie @ Top:
Anonymity?
Sure, whaever, I guess I’d be embarrassed to be the person ordered to say that out loud too.
Mousebumples
@Nicole: I also have rosacea but thankfully mine isn’t that bad. I was using 2 topicals in the months leading up to my wedding last fall but that was only because those pictures are ones I’ll look at regularly, for years. I stopped using both on my honeymoon. Stress is one of my big triggers, but I know everyone’s issues there can vary.
(unrelated, in the world of fywp, the site auto filled my nym for my first comment but forgot who I was for this one…)
debbie
Trump’s got two interviews today. I cannot wait to hear his raging at the times for that article. “How could my newspaper do that to me???”
Just Chuck
@Nicole: He avoids alcohol because of his experiences with an alcoholic brother, and he avoids exercise because he’s insane. Hell, he’s probably lying about rosacea too.
Searcher
@JGabriel: Whenever I see an anonymous White House source, I just assume it’s John Barron.
Nicole
@Mousebumples: I’ve been dealing with mine for 20 years, but it’s never gone beyond stage 1- I get the flushing, but not the bumps. Unfortunately, rather than sticking to my cheeks, like in most women, it’s on my nose and chin. I recently tried Mirvaso, and it was a miracle wonder drug for 2 days and then I got the rebound flushing which was terrible. Ah well.
I will say, I am a big fan of Paula’s Choice Calming Toner. I put off trying it for a long time because as a rosacea person, toner is generally a big no-go, but I have to admit, it does calm the redness, at least for a bit, and makes my skin feel nice. (I don’t work for the company or anything, this is purely me speaking for myself). Highly recommend, and not ridiculously expensive. I like all of their rosacea-aimed products.
I wonder if the rosacea is also why Trump is SO orange- I can definitely now see the fake tan being a spray, not a tanning bed, since sunlight can also be a rosacea trigger. I can see him obsessing over it to the point where he doesn’t notice he’s turned himself tangerine colored, as long as it’s a uniform tangerine color.
Nicole
@Just Chuck: I know the reasons he’s given about alcohol and exercise, but because his vanity is one of the few things about him that is actually a constant, I am more inclined to believe it’s about that, especially where exercise is concerned.
Uncle Cosmo
(Sir Deadwood Roswell-Grey, Foreign-Body Secretary)
It may be (barely) worth noting that as the Gaslighting of Murka is ongoing, 1600 Pennsyltucky Ave.u is undergoing the very activity the term is named for. Life imitates art, I guess…if you call that “living.”
Jager
Those “Good Genes” are only from the neck up?
chopper
@tybee:
maybe he meant 300 kilos? he meant 300 kilos.
MobiusKlein
@Nicole: You are not defending trump, but advocating good journalism.