Donald Trump wants the public to believe his physique looks better in person than in the countless photos that have chronicled his political career.
The commander in chief, who is well-acquainted with exercising his authority, thinks that photographers can do a better job of capturing his good side — in fact, he demands that they do just that.
When he could have been focused on diplomacy, Trump, instead, reveled in a vanity tangent during the Jan. 6 GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center.
The 79-year-old gathered House Republicans at the performing arts venue, which Trump informally added his name to last year, in Washington, D.C., to hear his disjointed speech about his achievements and remaining goals for the party and his administration.
He, of course, did not stay on track. In one instance, Trump interrupted his remarks to call out “fake news” photojournalist Doug Mills. With his finger pointed at the New York Times staff member, he quipped, “Pulitzer Prize right there, Pulitzer Prize. He got one for the bullet. He had the bullet. He got — how many Pulitzer Prizes? Three Pulitzer Prizes.”
Mills won two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1990s. Last year, he won the 2025 Breaking News Photography award and received a $15,000 prize. He captured the moment a single bullet flew past Trump’s head, barely grazing an ear, during a campaign rally stop in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
He’s asking for a miracle.
— Gummy Cupcake🧁 (@BoobaLupe) January 6, 2026
The acclaimed photographer captured the businessman-turned-political character throughout his first term as president from 2017 to 2021 and has continued to do so in the present day.
Trump’s ramblings continued with him pointing out members of the press seated beyond the first few rows. “I don’t like the people back there. These are the ones that take the pictures,” said “The Apprentice” boss. “Make me look thin for a change, Doug. You’re making me look a little big and heavy; I’m not happy about it,” he complained.
The comments immediately set off backlash — not just from critics online, but from Democrats as well.
An X account affiliated with the Democratic Party responded by resurfacing four unforgiving images of Trump, with the caption “Not the photographers fault.” The post mocked Trump’s plea to be photographed differently, implying that no amount of creative framing could override what cameras were actually capturing.
According to one critic, the problem isn’t the lens, it’s Trump. “Ummmm….Dumpy Don looks heavy because he IS heavy. Fat, rolly polly, obese, dumpy,” they remarked.
Donald Trump is the fattest president in over 100 years, btw. pic.twitter.com/RZKOlTSsBi
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) September 10, 2025
A second person was convinced that the only way to see things through Trump’s perspective was to see through a blind eye. That individual said, “It is all about optics and living in an alternative reality with this guy.”
“Donny, the camera doesn’t lie. McDonald’s eventually catches up to you,” a third commenter wrote. “Dozy Don” and his gluttonous ability to down multiple Big Macs in one sitting were exposed in a January article published by The Wall Street Journal. Several social media users agreed, “He’s asking for a miracle.”
Mills spoke with The Pulse about photographing Trump, noting how “very camera-conscious” 47 is. He also addressed Trump’s criticism of certain snapshots.
Donald Trump says his TIME Magazine cover may be the “worst picture of all time”:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) October 14, 2025
“They “disappeared” my hair… I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture, and deserves to be called out.” pic.twitter.com/FFQbEzpyZp
“I have no agenda, and I photograph what’s in front of me, and it doesn’t matter whether I think he looks flattering or not flattering, or he looks upset or he looks happy — that’s irrelevant to me… There’s nothing about my photographs that are fake,” Mills said.
The masses witnessed as Trump had a social media meltdown over a Time magazine cover that highlighted his thinning hair and flabby double-chin. The publication responded by issuing an updated cover to his liking.
