Donald Trump's Aide Debunked A Popular Theory About His Hair

Over the years there has been plenty of chatter that Donald Trump is bald, or well on his way there. On June 28, Margo Martin, who is the deputy director of communications for the one-time president, posted a video of the Republican presidential nominee boarding Trump Force One. The seemingly innocuous clip was part of a series of posts Martin uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, after Trump's tragic hair day during his presidential debate with Joe Biden. In the short vid, Trump held his hat while encountering strong winds before boarding the plane. What made the video notable was that his hair flopped in the breeze, but blew back into place, which helped to disprove theories that Trump wore a wig.

President @realDonaldTrump departs for a rally in Chesapeake, VA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NVafAQ9MDa

— Margo Martin (@margommartin) June 28, 2024

Earlier in the year, a viral video resurfaced that showed Trump losing his wig in the wind while addressing a crowd. That clip was doctored footage from when the then-president spoke before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in 2019.

Of course, murmurs of Trump sporting a wig predated the doctored video. Trump addressed the rumors about supposedly rocking a hairpiece back in 2013. "As everybody knows, but the haters & losers refuse to acknowledge, I do not wear a 'wig.' My hair may not be perfect but it's mine," he tweeted at the time. During his 2016 presidential campaign, it was a popular refrain for Trump detractors to claim he was bald. Trump famously disproved the wig rumors while on the campaign trail.

Donald Trump's hair was a topic of contention when he was running for president in 2016. While making the media rounds on the campaign trail, the former "The Apprentice" host appeared on "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon" where the host had a simple request. "If there's something we could do that's not presidential, really ... can I mess your hair up?" Jimmy Fallon asked. Trump agreed, and the late night host playfully tussled his hair.

Years later, after the doctored video of Trump's hair flying-off circulated, people revisited the late night clip. "Who else came here after the meme of this hair falling off to see if that actually happened," one YouTuber commented.

While harmless on the surface, the footage of Fallon jostling Trump's hair became a messy situation. After Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Fallon was accused of being complicit in helping him win votes. "I did not do it to 'normalize' him or to say I believe in his political beliefs or any of that stuff," Fallon said on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" in June 2018. The comedian expressed remorse in his decision to have Trump on as a guest in 2016. Predictably, the then-president caught wind of Fallon's statements and responded by lashing out on X. "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me ... Be a man Jimmy!" Trump tweeted in June 2018. That same year, another video appeared to show Trump's hair was not real.

A video of Donald Trump boarding Air Force One in February 2018 went viral on YouTube. The clip had footage of the then-president being filmed from behind as wind blew his hair and a sizable bald spot was revealed in the back. The clip was titled "Donald Trump Wig Reveal." Trump wasted no time and addressed claims about his hair. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump made light of his thinning hair. "Oh, I try like hell to hide that bald spot, folks," he told the crowd. "I work hard at it. It doesn't look bad. Hey, we're hanging in, we're hanging in." Not everyone thought the YouTube video exposed him for wearing a wig, as many said it was proof Trump employed a massive comb-over technique with his hair.

Previously, the real estate tycoon had spoken about whether or not his hair was a comb-over. In an interview with Rolling Stone in May 2011, Trump was fairly candid about how he achieved his signature coif. "I don't dry it, though. I let it dry by itself. It takes about an hour," he told the publication. Trump also detailed how he styled his hair. "I mean, I get a lot of credit for comb-overs. But it's not really a comb-over," he said about his hair routine. "It's sort of a little bit forward and back," Trump added.