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‘Who’s the orange man now?’: Biden’s big rebuttal to Supreme Court’s Trump ruling devolves into spray tan memes

He definitely looked a little different.

Photo of Katherine Huggins

Katherine Huggins

Joe Biden(l), Donald Trump(r)

An image of a very orange President Joe Biden is making the rounds among conservatives on social media, with right-wingers using it to hit back at frequent left-wing mockery of former President Donald Trump’s skin tone.

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Biden’s skin tone was some commentators’ top takeaway from his remarks criticizing the Supreme Court’s decision that presidents have immunity for official acts, a landmark ruling expected to insulate Trump from a number of federal charges in the case against him for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Screenshots from those remarks show a tanner than usual Biden—although some circulating screenshots appear manipulated to make Biden appear more orange than he actually was. (The full clip of his remarks is available on C-SPAN, where you can judge the degree of orangeness yourself.)

“Somebody at the White House finally applied bronzer to the president,” joked New York Magazine‘s Olivia Nuzzi on Monday night.

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Joe Biden Orange Memes

“Did Joe Biden get a spray tan?” asked Greg Price, adding in a second post, “From orange man bad to becoming the orange man yourself.”

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The orange Biden discourse got a boost from Trump himself, who posted a zoomed-in screenshot with no caption on Truth Social late Monday, which appears to be doctored to make Biden look more Trump-like.

And fans of Trump were quick to similarly boost the image, while simultaneously taking jabs at critics who have long mocked and memed the ex-president’s complexion.

“If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em,” quipped the prominent pro-Trump account DC Draino.

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“Another one of our [Babylon Bee] prophecies fulfilled,” quipped the satirical site’s editor-in-chief, along with an eight-month-old story jokingly portraying Biden as Trump-like.

Dom Lucre, a top right-wing influencer, wrote that “Trump whooped Biden ass so bad in that debate that he is turning into the bad orange man.”

“Why is Joe Biden suddenly… orange?” asked someone else. “Is his new tactic to confuse Trump supporters into voting for him?”

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Wrote another user: “Biden looked terrible and pasty at the debate, so he’s CAKED in bronzer tonight. Who’s the orange man now?”

The new look comes less than a week after Biden’s debate with Trump, where his team complained that he “was made up to look pale and pallid” despite having a summer tan, according to the New York Times.


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