Even before most people thought of him as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump became a household name thanks in large part to his hosting of The Apprentice and the “you’re fired” catchphrase that came with it.
Both at the time and since, Trump became well known for his unusual hairstyle and spray tan. And while both never really stopped being the subject of ridicule, it’s become clear that people have become used to his signature look because they immediately notice when he isn’t wearing it.
In the case of his most recent public appearance, the difference was noticeable but small enough that it had people questioning their memories.
On November 13, President Trump addressed the nation from the White House Rose Garden.
As The Mirror reported , his address concerned an update on Operation Warp Speed, a U.S. government effort to accelerate the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
This update comes in the wake of Pfizer announcing their promising vaccine candidate , which has shown 90% effectiveness thus far.
He also mentioned that “time will tell” if another administration takes hold soon, which varies slightly from his pattern of outright refusing to concede after the 2020 presidential election results indicated Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States.
However, as you might have noticed from the tweets you’re seeing here, it wasn’t the content of Trump’s address that had people talking about him.
Instead, they noticed that his hair had suddenly become gray in the days since they had last seen him.
And this discussion trend wasn’t lost on some of the people they shared a platform with.
To this user, that appeared to thwart an attempt by President Trump to take credit for the development of the vaccine. Such a comment isn’t without its basis, either.
As CNN reported , Vice President Mike Pence has previously tried to claim that Pfizer’s potential vaccine was the result of a public-private partnership with the Trump administration.
In response, the firm’s senior vice president, Kathrin Jansen, clarified that Pfizer is not now, nor have they ever, been a part of Operation Warp Speed and have not taken any money from the U.S. government.
When some users caught sight of Trump’s hair, they wondered if they were wrong for thinking it hadn’t always looked like that.
As one person put it , “I haven’t started drinking yet, so I know it’s not that…since when has Trump had gray hair?”
But as we can see from this photo taken back in August, their eyes do not deceive them and Trump’s hair usually appears blond when he’s in public.
Once their memories were confirmed, people started to wonder what exactly happened in the short time when Trump had been radio silent.
However, a Vogue report from back in March revealed that Trump’s gray hair is hardly a new development as he spent some of — at the time, daily — press briefings looking similarly to his most recent appearance.
And it’s handy that Trump’s continued refusal to concede the election came up in his address because it seemed to be on at least one user’s mind as well.
That trend is doing much to assuage the concern among Americans hoping for a smooth transition of power but it does set up this zinger quite nicely.
After all, what can we do at this point but zing?
