The Transformation Of Donald Trump's 'Pucker Chin' Is Jarring To See

As anyone in the Mar-a-Lago set knows, years of making the same expression does take a toll on one's face, and unfortunately for Donald Trump, one of his hallmark expressions — that would be a puckered chin — has intensified with time. 

Some may recall that back in 2017, The Guardian ran a story on Trump's most common facial expressions, along with the possible psychology behind them. One of those was his puckered chin, of which psychologist Peter Collett noted, "People often pull their chins in when they feel threatened — it's a way of tensing the chin in anticipation of being symbolically punched in the face." Collett added that it being one of Trump's go-to expressions meant that in spite of his bravado, "By unwittingly externalizing his feelings in this way Trump proves that he is not as tough as he would like everyone to think." All that said, it is interesting that Trump seems to be puckering his chin even more these days. Granted, that's not to say he wasn't doing it before, and the fact that it's been so noticeable in his second term may also be a result of years of doing it (aka those dreaded static lines).

Mark Wilson/Getty

We'll kick things off with a look back at Trump's pucker circa 2018, when the then-first-time prez spoke with reporters about the Senate's vote on Brett Kavanaugh. This was prior to Trump's impressive weight loss, so it's possible that's why his puckered chin didn't stick out quite as much as it has in more recent years, but it was noticeable all the same ... and now that we're aware of Collett's analysis, we can definitely see the tense body language. In fact, it kind of looks as though the president was grimacing.

Okay, so not all of Donald Trump's chin puckers over the years have been a full-on grimace, though we'd still argue that he's used it as a deflection all the same (even if the only thing he's trying to hide is strong emotion). Exhibit A: his appearance at the 2021 rally to endorse Chuck Grassley in Des Moines.

Perhaps that was because Grassley alluded to his political future in glowing terms at the rally, noting that Trump had "91 percent of the Republican voters in Iowa" (via The Hill). Happy tears, WYA?

In 2022, Donald Trump gave us another look at his chin pucker during that year's midterms — but let's just say it didn't look like he was holding back happy tears. In fact, Trump's 2022 pucker looked like one of resignation. 

Maybe that was because at that time there were rumors of distance in his family in the wake of his 2024 candidacy announcement, or maybe he was sad his friendship with Kanye West had soured (aka 2022 in a nutshell). Either way, there's no question that the pucker we saw in 2022 was a sad one. 

Come 2023, Donald Trump still looked a little sad in some pics, and we dare say his chin pucker seemed a tad deflated even at a UFC tournament. This, despite being photographed next to MAGA rocker Kid Rock, and the likelihood that he was hanging out with his close friend Dana White as well. Granted, there is a possibility the lighting had something to do with that, because as we've assessed, in more recent years, the president's chin pucker has become more prominent, not less. 

Perhaps Trump's chin needs a presidential title to really shine. 

Fast-forward to 2024, and a re-elected Donald Trump was puckering his chin for Turning Point USA's AmericaFest. That came after months of Ozempic rumors, so perhaps his chin standing out more than it had before had something to do with the then-president-elect's weight loss. After all, we doubt he felt a need to tense up at a Turning Point USA event. 

It's possible the businessman was just super proud of his turnaround and impending return to the presidency, and the emotions he was trying to stave off were happy tears. A missed opportunity for "aws," honestly.

By the time Donald Trump had moved back into the White House, his pucker was back and seemed to be all but etched into his chin. In fact, it was so established it almost looked as though he didn't need to tense up for it to be seen. That's just as well, because it was around that time that his overall exhausted appearance started making him look like the real sleepy Joe, and no pucker, iconic or not, is worth over-exertion. 

After years of noticeable chin puckering, it seems 2026 was Donald Trump's year to shine — and never have Peter Collett's musings on it being a defense mechanism rung more true. 

While speaking to the White House press corps in March 2026, Trump noticeably puckered his chin as he acknowledged that military deaths were an unfortunate part of war. It was pretty obvious he was trying to look sympathetic, but with him immediately following that up by asking which publication the question had come from, it also seems likely he was bracing for a confrontation with the reporter. Pucker chin defense, activate.

No, that's not a pic of Donald Trump making a stank face at a rave, though we will concede he looked like he may be mid-robot dance. Luckily for Melania Trump, though (who we all know hates his cringey dance moves), the president was just addressing the GOP.

We're not sure exactly what he was speaking about at the moment he fashioned his chin into what might well have been the deepest pucker we've seen on him, but the photo evidence might well become our go-to party meme. 

Just two days after breaking it down on stage (JK), Donald Trump gave us another chin pucker, this time while addressing a crowd in Kentucky. Far from looking like he was grimacing, though, it looked as though he was genuinely thrilled to be there. 

We'd say we could glean that from his chin (call us the pucker whisperers), but he did also tell the crowd, "I love Kentucky. We won in a landslide" (via Fox 10 Phoenix). Happy pucker it is, then. 

Donald Trump puckered his chin a lot during the 2026 St. Patrick's Day festivities with Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and TBF, a lot of it looked like he was genuinely smiling along with the audience. However, as was reported by CNN, Martin did throw a few low-key jabs at the president, particularly when it came to things like tariffs, so it's also possible that laughter was on the guarded side. After all, there were also times during the speech his chin was giving sad pucker (see above). 

Either way, the president's chin pucker is alive and well, and something tells us it'll only become more of a fixture with time.