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At a White House Rose Garden dinner on September 2, Trump said he does not wear a wig, according to USA Today. The president referred to a windy 2024 campaign rally in Ohio as evidence.
His point was that the strong wind that day would have quickly exposed a wig. That subject had resurfaced after comedian Rosie O’Donnell alleged during an August 2026 appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that Trump’s hair was a wig.
It was far from the first time Trump had faced such speculation. During a 2015 campaign rally, he also denied wearing a toupee. “I don’t wear a toupee; it’s my hair, I swear,” Trump said at the time.
Then, on August 5, 2026, another appearance put his hair back under the microscope. Trump was speaking at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas during an event promoting his administration’s tax-relief initiative. His hair appeared noticeably fuller than usual.
Journalist Aaron Rupar commented on the change on X, writing, “Trump’s hair, uh, has a lot more volume than normal.”
Rupar followed that observation with another question: “Is Trump rocking a wig, or what the hell is going on here?” A month later, it was not simply the apparent volume generating discussion. The color itself had changed enough to become the story.
At the Las Vegas event, Trump’s hair appeared fuller at the front, with longer blond strands swept across the top and more lift than in recent photos. The frontal angle made the added volume especially noticeable as he stood behind the lectern. | Source: Getty Images
Trump’s Hair Has Changed Through the Decades
The darker appearance also offered an unexpected callback to Trump’s younger years.
During the 1980s, Trump wore his hair long and considerably darker than the golden-blond shade associated with him in more recent years. Photographs from that period show how much both its color and appearance have evolved over the decades.
At different points, his hair has appeared thick and full, while other photographs have shown it looking thinner. Windblown videos have also repeatedly turned the hairstyle into a subject of pop-culture commentary.
Color has varied as well. In his younger years, Trump’s hair appeared brownish-red or strawberry blond, while more recent appearances have generally featured a straw-colored blond mixed with hints of gray.
That history makes his September 4 look less unprecedented than it might initially appear. The darker shade actually brings his hair somewhat closer to colors he wore decades ago.
One social media user noticed exactly that connection. “He looks like him 20 yrs ago.” The history behind Trump’s hair is not limited to photographs and speculation about its styling.
His Former Doctor Once Discussed His Hair
In 2017, Trump’s longtime personal physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, revealed that the then-president took finasteride, The New York Times reported.
Finasteride is used for prostate-related treatment and is also marketed as Propecia for male-pattern baldness. Bornstein said Trump took a small dose and described the medication as helping maintain the growth of his scalp hair.
Bornstein, who said he used the drug himself, made a particularly direct statement about his famous patient. “He has all his hair,” the doctor said.
Bornstein had served as Trump’s personal physician since 1980. His disclosure offered a documented detail about the president’s hair years before the latest debate over its volume, authenticity, and changing appearance.
Still, the September 4 transformation involved something far easier for the public to see: Trump had stepped off the plane with a much darker look. And people online had plenty to say about it.