‘This guy is talking about what I look like in my bedroom’: Trump reportedly incensed at Meadows for describing his unkempt hair in book
Mr Trump is upset at his former chief of staff for describing the state of his hair during his bout with Covid-19
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former president Donald Trump’s hair has been mocked as something styled with the aid of a cotton candy machine. A Chinese state newspaper once compared it the plumage of a Golden Pheasant. Now, it’s the latest reason for him to be incensed at his former chief of staff.
According to a recent report in The Washington Post, Mr Trump became “particularly upset” at Mark Meadows, his fourth and final White House chief of staff, for discussing the state his faux pompadour was in while he was fighting for his life against Covid-19 last year.
Mr Meadows’ offending foray into amateur presidential trichology was revealed in the section of his recently released book, The Chief’s Chief, which details Mr Trump’s pre-election bout with Covid-19.
He recalled the state Mr Trump was in as his physician insisted that he had to be transported from the White House to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland because of his low oxygen saturation levels, writing that Mr Trump’s hair “was a mess from the hours he’d spent … in bed” while receiving a then-experimental antibody treatment from Regeneron.
Speaking to a confidante who later relayed his words to the Post, Mr Trump reportedly complained: “This guy is talking about what I look like, in my bedroom”.
The former president has for years denied claims that his signature hairstyle comes from a hairpiece of any kind.
During his 2016 campaign, he would occasionally ask attendees at his events to grip his sandy-coloured mane and give it a tug to demonstrate that it was, in fact, his own natural growth and not the result of any artifice.
Mr Trump has, however, admitted that the complex construction atop his head has been intended to execute a presidential cover-up of sorts.
During a speech to the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr Trump took notice of live video footage that showed the back of his head.
After feigning an attempt to tweak his hair, he remarked: “I try like hell to hide that bald spot”.
“It doesn’t look bad. We’re hanging in,” he added.
In his White House expose, Fire and Fury, author Michael Wolff reported that Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka had described the means by which he styled his hair to a friend as “a contained island after scalp reduction surgery – surrounded by a furry circle of hair around the sides and front, from which all ends are drawn up to meet in the centre then swept back and secured by a stiffening spray”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments