Donald Trumps Slicked Back Hair — Donald Trump in profile with slicked-back hair raising a fist on a dark stage

Donald Trumps Slicked Back Hair

2019viral event / reaction imagesdead

Published August 19, 2026

Donald Trumps Slicked Back Hair refers to the reaction and jokes that spread after President Trump showed up to a June 2019 memorial service with his hair combed straight back instead of his usual comb-over. The unfamiliar style, paired with golf clothes, kicked off comparisons to Patrick Bateman, Michael Scott and used car salesmen across Twitter.

trump memes body image memes political satire memes 2019 memes viral photo memes

Overview

Donald Trumps Slicked Back Hair is the name given to a short-lived June 2019 meme built around the president ditching his signature comb-over for a wet-looking, combed-straight-back style. He wore it during a surprise stop at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia, still dressed in his golf clothes1.

The look was quickly compared to Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, Michael Scott from The Office, and a generic used car salesman, with hairstylists telling The Daily Beast the shine gave away a heavy dose of product2. Screenshots of Trump at the church, plus split images pairing the new hair with his normal style, became the visual core of the joke1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter (viral spread)
Date
2019

The moment took place on June 2nd, 2019, when Trump made an unannounced visit to McLean Bible Church to pay respects to victims of the Virginia Beach mass shooting, arriving in golf attire and a much flatter, slicked-back hairstyle than usual2. Twitter user @UweBollocks3 posted a photo from the visit that day with the caption noting he looked like he belonged in the Road House universe, and the tweet pulled in more than 12,000 likes and 1,400 retweets within 24 hours1.

There is no single creator of the meme itself, since it grew out of press photos of the event that many users started reacting to at once1.

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How It Spread

Later on June 2nd, longtime Trump ally Roger Stone Jr4 posted a shot of himself to Instagram praising the new hair and claiming Trump had never looked better, drawing about 4,046 likes in a day1. The next morning, Twitter user @_ShaunDougherty5 contrasted the moment with the 2014 outrage over Barack Obamas tan suit, asking followers to imagine the reaction if Obama had shown up to a church service in golf shoes; that tweet picked up over 1,300 likes and 400 retweets in a day1.

Mainstream coverage arrived the same weekend. The Daily Beast ran a piece with reactions from working hairstylists, one of whom called the look American Psycho slicked-back and argued it had to be intentional because of how the hat would have flattened the hair2. By June 3rd, Trump had flown to the UK to meet the royal family and returned to his usual comb-over, which parody account @haveigotnews6 joked about with a photo captioned as Trump asking the royals for styling tips, gathering over 1,100 likes and 200 retweets in a day1.

After that week the hair jokes faded quickly, and the meme is now mostly remembered as a snapshot of 2019 political Twitter rather than an ongoing format12.

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How to Use This Meme

People typically use the meme by pairing the McLean Bible Church photo with a normal comb-over shot for a before-and-after gag, or by captioning the slicked-back image with American Psycho, Michael Scott, or used car salesman references2. It is not really a template, more a reaction image pulled out when Trumps appearance or grooming comes up1.

Frequently Asked Questions