Look Like Donald Trump

Love him or hate him; the billionaire businessman, television personality, and 45th president of the United States Donald Trump has a signature style. Maybe you want to mimic his success in the boardroom or just look like him on Halloween. Either way, here’s how you can look like Donald Trump.

Steps

Getting Trump’s Hair

  1. Wear your hair like Donald Trump. Everyone knows that Donald Trump’s signature feature is his hair. Be careful what you ask for; you might end up looking like Trump, but not everyone agrees that’s a good thing. Trump’s hair has been the subject of many jokes![1]
    • Trump’s hair is traditional. You won’t find him with long hair, a pony tail, a mullet, or anything like that. Trump wears his hair short. The White House press secretary accused Trump of having “fake hair” and others have accused him of getting a hair transplant. Is this true? No one really knows for sure.[2]
    • The fact is, though, that Trump’s hair focuses the audience’s attention on the front. That’s the key. You will never see a receding hairline on Trump (unless he’s caught in the wind, of course). His hair forms a full swoop that creates the illusion of fullness, which is associated by some with virility.
  2. Brush your hair back in the middle. Put it in a ponytail on top of your head. Brush the rest of your hair into a ponytail under the first one. Note: The pony tail is not always necessary. Merely brushing your hair backwards is an option as well.[3]Fluff it up by backcombing it with your brush.
    • Bring it onto your head. Stretch it out so it fits on both temples. Pin it in place. Backcomb the back ponytail, and pull it over your head so it looks toupee like. Pin it at the side to hold it in place. Flip the hair under and sweep it to the side.
    • Another way to get Trump’s hair is to blow dry the hair forward. Fold and blow the hair back and to the side. Then, sweep and blow the remaining hair to both sides.[4] Essentially, the key to Trump’s hair is this: Hair from the side of the head has been rotated to the front to give him a thick hair line. It’s possible he’s had hair grafts.
  3. Get the right hair color. Trump’s hair is perpetually blonde. No matter how much he ages, his hair never turns fully gray or white, although he can sometimes be seen with whitened patches by the ears.
    • Keep your hair colored, and make it a blondish brown. Trump has admitted to using hairspray.[2]
    • Dye your eyebrows to match your hair. Some Trump impersonators bleach their eyebrows. Trump’s eyebrows are the same golden blonde as his hair. You will never see him with dark eyebrows.
  4. Trump usually has a tan. Some people think his complexion looks a bit orange. This effect is probably the result of a spray tan. The bottom line is that Trump never ventures out looking too pale.
    • To get the Trump orange-tan look, you could buy a self-tanning lotion at many stores. You need a little color to your skin if you want to truly look like Trump.
    • Trump impersonators say that Trump’s look is not as static as some people think and that the shade of his skin color constantly seems to change.
    • It's probably best to stick with a natural tan. Tanning booths can lead to side effects such as sunburns, skin cancer, and immune system suppression, because of the large amount of ultraviolet rays being shone onto your skin.

Dressing like Donald Trump

  1. Buy a “make America great again” baseball hat. Donald Trump knows advertising. He’s defined himself by a simple slogan, and he is often seen wearing a baseball cap that bears it.
    • This hat is the most easily definable trait of Trump. If you are seen wearing it, it’s likely that people will know immediately that it’s a Trump reference. Trump usually wears the hat in white or red.
    • You can buy the hat online on many sites. Whatever you think about him politically, most people agree that Trump understands marketing. He knows the power of a clear, memorable slogan, and this one is his.
  2. Wear a power tie, preferably solid red without a pattern. Trump uses “power colors.” He is usually seen in a suit and tie, and when he wears a tie, it’s often red. Some observers have noticed that, when Trump was on "The Apprentice" TV show, he usually wore a solid red tie. Then, he switched it up, sometimes wearing pink and yellow ties. Once he started running for president, the red tie came back.
    • You won’t find Trump in a bow tie, or anything non-traditional. If he doesn’t wear a red tie, you might find him in a blue one. Red ties connote authority and confidence, and also passion. Thus, if you’re trying to convey that you have a strong vision for a company, this is a good color to choose.[5] You almost never find Trump wearing earth tones.
    • Trump wants his ties to stand out, so they are bright and bold colors. He gravitates toward solid ties and bright or dramatic colors. When he does wear a pattern, it is likely to feature horizontal stripes or tight geometric patterns. Trump’s ties are wide. He does not go for the skinny tie look. Also, he tends to have the tie hang lower than ties are typically worn, they often hang lower than the belt, and even as low as between his legs.
  3. Wear a suit but don’t button the jacket. This is signature Trump. The big power tie is a, shall we say it? A phallic symbol. To accentuate that point, Trump rarely buttons his jacket.
    • Trump’s suits are traditional. You will find him in a classic navy blue suit. You will find him in subtle pinstripes. He’s got the “businessman in the boardroom” look down pat. This was a look that Trump mastered on his television show “The Apprentice,” in which he was usually seen in a dark navy blue traditional suit with a power red tie without pattern.[6]
    • Trump’s suits are known to be somewhat boxy, and tend to run a little large. They are not overly tailored. [7] He sticks to rich and neutral colors, such as charcoal gray or navy blue.
    • Trump's suits are made by the Italian company Brioni. Brioni manufactured all of his suits for the apprentice, and the vast majority of his suits during the election campaign. So if you want an authentic Trump look, you should use a Brioni suit.
    • When you see Trump in casual clothes, they are usually traditional and suitable for a golf course. You might see him in a monogrammed jacket with khaki slacks. His dress shirts are usually white.

Mastering Trump’s Body Language

  1. Speak like Trump. People have studied Trump’s speaking patterns in an attempt to isolate his appeal. And they have found some key patterns in how Trump talks.
    • Trump speaks in a slightly nasally tone. One Trump impersonator describes his vibe as “angry confidence.”[8]
    • The New York Times analyzed 95,000 words spoken by Trump and found a few constant patterns. For one, Trump often speaks in the collective voice, using the word “we,” and he often speaks directly to his audience, saying “you” in sentences.
    • The Washington Post analyzed 6,348 Trump tweets and found that 11 percent were insults and attacks and 89% consisted of self-promotion and bragging.[9] His main targets were other political opponents.
    • Trump creates an unnamed or named supposedly dangerous “other,” creating dangerous imagery. He uses constant repetition, and his speech patterns tend to be very binary and devoid of nuance or gray areas.[10]
  2. Use emotional appeal in your speech. Trump’s speech patterns attack the person, not the idea or the situation. He frequently calls political opponents such condemning words as horrible, weak, or stupid. He uses adjectives heavily to make his point.
    • Trump focuses on emotional appeal, which Greek philosophers dubbed “pathos,” over an appeal to reason. Pathos is defined as an appeal to the emotions.
    • Ways to use pathos in speech patterns include making promises or commandments; expressing deep indignation; prophesying payback for ill doing; breaking off suddenly in the middle of speaking to convey emotion; and repetition of words to amplify thought and emotion.[11]
  3. Gesture like Trump. Trump uses power gestures. He uses gestures that convey authority and strength. He wants to show he’s “winning.” Trump “waves” a lot, using the gesture to say “go away, get out of here” said one impersonator.
    • For example, Trump uses his hands in an assertive fashion. He can often be seen giving a firm “thumb’s up” sign, for example.[12]
    • Another common gesture used by Trump is to punch the air with a single finger to emphasize a point while curling the rest of the hand into a fist.[13] This is one of Trump’s most common gestures.[14] It is called the “baton gesture,” and Bill Clinton often used a variation of it.
  4. Master Trump’s facial expressions. Trump is a master at conveying emotions through facial gestures. Sometimes this backfires on him. There are entire memes created around Trump’s facial expressions.
    • Trump often turns his gaze into a squint. The goal here is to look serious and tough and like he is listening intently. Trump communicates with his body. He purses his lips when his opponents say something he doesn’t like. He turns his torso toward opponents to show he has no fear of them.[15]
    • Trump keeps his palms up when he gestures, a way of communicating openness. He leans forward when he is at a lectern, putting both hands on it as if he is doing a push up, which body language experts consider a power move. Trump nods and bobs his head a lot.
    • Trump often smiles, and when he does so, he rarely shows teeth. His smile is more of a Cheshire cat style grin. This implies that he has a secret; he possesses knowledge other people do not.[16]
    • Trump snarls when he wants to show disgust. He also rolls his eyes, shrugs and smirks a lot. These tactics derail questioners. [17]

Tips

  • If you wear the hat, people will know you're trying to be Trump.
  • Mastering Trump's signature arrogance (some might say confidence) is the key to his appeal.

Warnings

  • Trump is controversial. If you look like Trump, you could become a lightning rod.

Sources and Citations

  1. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/11/donald-trump-presidency-hair-video
  2. 2.0 2.1 http://www.businessinsider.com/hair-surgeon-explains-donald-trumps-hair-2015-12
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxNafOuIeA
  4. https://twitter.com/TIME/status/610948013679353857/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  5. http://www.thedarkknot.com/blogs/suitupdressup/13993869-what-different-color-ties-mean
  6. http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2015-09-25-1443210309-8713648-DonaldTrump.jpg
  7. http://www.tie-a-tie.net/blog/donald-trump-the-10th-most-famous-tie-wearer/
  8. http://www.today.com/series/nailing-it/donald-trump-costume-halloween-tips-get-his-look-voice-t52446
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/its-not-chaos-its-trumps-campaign-strategy/2015/12/09/9005a5be-9d68-11e5-8728-1af6af208198_story.html
  10. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/us/politics/95000-words-many-of-them-ominous-from-donald-trumps-tongue.html?_r=0
  11. http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/Groupings/of%20Pathos.htm
  12. http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/08/16/donald_trump_on_immigration_build_border_fence_make_mexico_pay_for_it.html
  13. http://www.businessinsider.com/nbc-donald-trump-2015-6
  14. http://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/2015/08/04/donald-trump.jpg
  15. http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/17/health/republican-debate-donald-trump-body-language/
  16. http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2015_33/1165401/150810-donald-trump-debate-743a_ded2a0af932f2c2332757273ea911da2.nbcnews-fp-1200-800.jpg
  17. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201509/top-10-lessons-donald-trumps-body-language

You may like