Politics
Donald Trump’s request to ‘look thin’ during a photo op sparked viral memes.
Jan. 11 2026, Published 3:34 p.m. ET
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Donald Trump, known for his disdain for unflattering photos, made headlines at a recent event for asking photographers to make him look thin. His request ignited a viral meme fest across social media as users couldn’t resist the urge to poke fun at the president’s self-deprecating comment.
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“Make me look thin for once, you’re making me look a bit heavy,” Trump told a photographer during the event.
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Donald Trump asked photographers to make him look thin at an event.
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Addressing the media present, he brought up Doug Mills from The New York Times, exclaiming, “Pulitzer Prize! Pulitzer Prize! He got one for the bullet.”
Trump praised the photographers, calling them “great guys,” but expressed his disdain for other journalists present, stating, “I don’t like the people back there as much.”
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Trump’s lighthearted yet slightly bizarre request quickly made waves online.
Users flooded the comments of the viral video, offering their clever takes on his appeal.
One user quipped, “Truth hurts,” while another simply stated, “It’s not them.”
Echoing a more direct sentiment, a third added, “This man needs help.”
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The moment was caught on video and quickly went viral.
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In a humorous twist, many references popped up relating to Trump’s love of fast food, especially in light of his campaign slogan for 2024.
“Fewer Big Macs could also solve this problem,” one netizen joked, while another asked, “Does he want fries with that request?”
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Highlighting a contradiction, someone remarked, “Eats nothing but McDonald’s and hates exercise, but is surprised that he always looks fat.”
One commenter cheekily reminded Trump that it wasn’t the photographers who were responsible for his eating choices.
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“Photographers didn’t stuff the McDonald’s fries, Filet-O-Fish, quarter-pounder with cheese, and Big Mac in your mouth that you ate in one sitting,” they wrote.
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Many comments mocked Donald Trump’s weight and vanity.
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Many users took the opportunity to comment directly on Trump’s weight.
“Dude, you are heavy,” one user simply stated, while another suggested, “Maybe you should lose some weight, then.”
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The undercurrent of narcissism in Trump’s comments did not go unnoticed, with one user observing, “The vanity and narcissism from this man is nauseating.”
As the memes continued to circulate, references to Trump’s previous comments about the media popped up. “The press missed a real opportunity to call him Piggy to his face,” one user noted, referencing his infamous “Quiet, piggy” moment.
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Responses varied from disbelief — “Did he actually say it?” — to humor — “He’s asking for a miracle.” The sentiment echoed in another comment: “It’s always someone else’s fault with him.”
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Social media users flooded the clip with jokes and memes.
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Trump has a long history of bemoaning unflattering images. Just last year, he expressed his disdain for a low-angle photo featured in TIME magazine, which he described as potentially “The Worst of All Time.”
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “They ‘disappeared’ my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one.”
“Really weird! I never liked taking pictures from underneath angles, but this is a super bad picture and deserves to be called out. What are they doing, and why?” he ranted, following it with a better-angled image shared by TIME magazine.
