PoliticsDonald Trump 'Not Happy' About the 'Back' of His Hair Thinning: 'I Don't Like That Little Skin That's Showing'
Donald Trump said he has to 'do a little bit better' when it comes to hiding his thinning mane.
Sept. 11 2026, Published 4:58 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump openly expressed anxiety about his thinning hair during a candid moment on stage at the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas, Tx.
While looking up at a large screen broadcasting his image, the 80-year-old president complained directly about a balding patch near the crown of his head, stating, "I gotta do a little bit better in the back right there... I don't like that little skin that's showing; I'm not happy with it.”
The confession follows weeks of heavy public speculation and a series of highly analyzed hairstyle transformations.
Donald Trump's Hair Has Changed Over the Past Few Weeks
Donald Trump doesn't 'like' that the back of his hair is thinning.
On Wednesday, September 9, strong tarmac winds at Joint Base Andrews visibly disrupted Trump's signature style before his flight to Dallas, exposing a much thinner profile and prompting fresh waves of internet commentary.
Just days prior, Trump shocked onlookers by stepping off Air Force One in New Jersey, debuting a dramatically darker, more brunette hair color and discarding his usual blonde look.
In August, Trump appeared with a much fuller, colorful comb-over style that sparked theories of a hairpiece or a temporary "Robert Redford" style makeover.
'I Don't Wear a Wig'
The president shot down rumors he wears a wig or toupee.
Despite admitting his self-consciousness about his crown, Trump maintained his long-standing defense that he does not wear a wig.
He recently referenced a 2024 campaign rally in Ohio to prove his point, telling supporters that if he wore a wig, the intense winds that night would have blown it straight off his head.
He also recently shot down rumors that he wears a toupee.
“I went up to the speaker, and it was blowing so hard,” he said. “You know, for years, I had to suffer with people saying, ‘He wears a wig.’ I don’t wear a wig. But that night, they found out I did not wear a wig because if you did, it was not going to be on your head very long.”
Biographers have alternative theories, alleging a portable hair-patch kit with matching colored pastes follows the president around the country to touch up his thinning spots on demand.
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Donald Trump explained to biographer Michael Wolff that he teases and fluffs his mane to achieve his look.
In an interview exploring Trump’s grooming habits, biographer Michael Wolff detailed how Trump’s hair is built: “He described the way that his hair came together, of having to tease it in certain ways and having to pull it in certain ways and having to fluff it in certain ways. And so you kind of created this confection on top.”
Celebrity hairstylist Ted Gibson doubted professional intervention, noting Trump’s long-term barber only trimmed the sides, leaving the top entirely untouched so the POTUS could craft the comb-over himself.
Speaking to the New York Post, celebrity colorist Louis Licari pointed to historical scalp transplants performed in the 1980s by Dr. Norman Orentreich as the structural origin of the hair pattern.
Did Donald Trump Have Surgery for His Hairline?
Ivana Trump claimed her ex-husband has scalp reduction surgery in 1989.
The most definitive evidence comes from a 1990 legal deposition by his late ex-wife, Ivana Trump, who testified under oath that Trump underwent scalp reduction surgery in 1989. This aggressive, now-outdated procedure involves cutting away a bald section of the scalp and stretching the hair-bearing skin together to close the gap.
