Donald Trump has come under fire after social media users accused him of digitally altering a photo of himself standing alongside King Charles III during last month’s state visit to the United Kingdom.
The former U.S. president and First Lady Melania Trump spent two days in Britain beginning 17 September, marking his second official trip to the country since 2019, when Queen Elizabeth II was still on the throne.
Their packed itinerary included meetings with multiple members of the Royal Family, a banquet in St George’s Hall attended by 160 guests, and a formal sit-down with the King himself. A commemorative photo of Trump and Charles, shared on the official POTUS and White House Instagram accounts, quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons.
The image showed Trump smiling broadly, but many online observers zeroed in on what appeared to be unnaturally brightened teeth. The caption that accompanied the shot read: “President Donald J. Trump and His Majesty King Charles III” with U.S. and U.K. flag emojis, as well as a handshake.
Within hours, the post was flooded with comments suggesting the picture had been retouched. “Whoever did the teeth whitening editing needs to be fired,” one Instagram user wrote. Another added: “The Facetune teeth whitening was a massive fail. You’re fired!”
Others piled on with similar remarks: “What is going on with his teeth?” … “Why did they edit his teeth?” … “What the hell is this picture? Halloween come early?” Several even questioned if the photo had been generated with AI.
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The photo also reignited surprise over the age difference between the two men. While King Charles is Britain’s oldest monarch at 76, Trump is actually older — by three years. “Hard to believe Trump is older than Charles,” one X user wrote. Another added: “Charles looks like he could be Trump’s father, age-wise.”
Whether the image was in fact edited remains unclear, but the speculation has only added to the scrutiny surrounding Trump’s highly publicised trip.