What has happened to Donald Trump’s face…?
Donald Trump’s no stranger to a bit of cosmetic tinkering – but a new photo has conspiracy theorists arguing over the former president’s appearance.
When American boxer Ryan Garcia posed for a picture with the Republican candidate, he probably wasn’t expecting to spark a heated debate.
But the comment section was immediately full of chatter about how Trump looked half his age, while others wondered whether a plastic surgeon had been at work.
Claims were even made that Garcia was posing with a body double or a creepy wax figure.
So, does the viral photo really depict the Donald himself? Here’s what we know.
What did Ryan Garcia post?
On Sunday evening, 25-year-old Garcia – one of boxing’s youngest stars – shared an Instagram photo with Trump at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, a glamorous hotel in southern California.
In the caption, he wrote that he had ‘a lot of laughs’ with the former president, adding they had ‘some boxing talk and great vibes’.
On X, Garcia simply captioned the image: ‘AMERICA’.
It’s not the first time the lightweight champion has posted about Trump in recent days.
Who is Ryan Garcia?
Ryan Garcia, 25, has been boxing professionally since he was 17.
The California-born fighter enjoyed a remarkable rise in becoming one of boxing’s brightest stars with over 10 million followers on Instagram.
Garcia won his first 23 professional fights, including a memorable knockout win over Great Britain’s Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell in 2021, but suffered the first defeat of his professional career in one of the biggest fights of 2023, knocked out by Gervonta Davis in Las Vegas.
Earlier this year, fans expressed their concern for the boxer after a string of strange press conference appearances and frenzied social media posts.
In February, Garcia announced the birth of his third child and his divorce from wife Andrea Celina in a matter of minutes.
On Saturday, he tweeted: ‘I met Trump’. In a separate post, he called Trump’s youngest son Barron the ‘tallest man alive’.
Garcia also shared a video of himself boxing in a hotel lobby with a crowd of people watching.
Trump and Barron both appear to be among the onlookers.
Why are people suspicious of the photo?
Almost as soon as Garcia shared the picture, people started questioning whether or not it was real.
Many pointed out that 77-year-old Trump looked much younger than usual, with some marvelling at the Republican nominee’s radiant appearance.
‘Trump looks good… too good… man getting younger?’ wrote Jordan White on X.
An Instagrammer named Ryan said ‘Trump is aging backwards’.
Others, however, were a little more suspicious.
One wondered whether Trump has been taking Ozempic, a popular weight loss drug also used to treat type 2 diabetes.
‘Ozempic Trump wasn’t on my bingo card this year but I’ll take it,’ said Favi on X.
X user Anjin Sama theorised that the picture looked odd because ‘Trump is using Botox well’.
In the past, Trump has blasted others for undergoing plastic surgery.
In 2017 he hit out at TV news anchor Mika Brzezinski on Twitter, claiming that she was ‘bleeding badly from a face lift’.
And at a campaign rally in 2020, he slated Joe Biden’s rumoured cosmetic tweaks.
‘I mean, honestly, what the hell did he spend all that money on the plastic surgery (for) if he is going to cover it up,’ Trump said, referencing Biden’s choice to wear a face mask during the Covid pandemic.
Has Donald Trump had plastic surgery?
Trump has never publicly confirmed that he has had any forms of cosmetic surgery.
But that hasn’t stopped persistent whispers about his appearance over the years.
In 1990, Trump’s ex-wife Ivana claimed he had undergone scalp reduction surgery, which patients usually have to correct balding.
Ivana said the surgery caused her former husband great discomfort.
She also said that Trump had liposuction on his chin and waist.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka allegedly told friends that her father had surgery to correct a bald spot, according to author Michael Wolff.
And in a viral YouTube video, facial plastic surgeon Dr Gary Linkov claimed that Trump’s hairline has become straighter over the years.
Dr Linkov said he believes that Trump has had plug grafts, which is the most common type of hair transplant surgery.
Is Trump using a body double?
But others didn’t think plastic surgery of any kind could have resulted in such a dramatic transformation.
They went as far as to say that it wasn’t Trump in the image at all.
‘No way that’s Trump rn .. has to be a wax figure … if not good for him,’ said Yung Nicholas.
On Instagram, Art Vartanian joked: ‘That’s a 45-year-old Trump stunt double’.
Some pointed out that it couldn’t be a wax figure because Trump’s hand position changed in the two photos.
However, one eagle-eyed fan spotted a crucial detail – the height difference.
‘Ryan is 5”8 and Trump is 6”2. Yet they are same height on this picture. That’s not Trump,’ X user Will wrote.
These theories are eerily similar to the wild internet conspiracy that a body double has occasionally subbed in for Trump’s wife, Melania.
The rumour has been circulating on social media since 2017, when the couple visited a Secret Service training centre in Maryland.
At the time, Trump’s communications director Stephanie Grisham dismissed the story.
‘Once again, we find ourselves consumed with a ridiculous non-story when we could be talking about the work the first lady is doing on behalf of children,’ Grisham told CNN.