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Kristi Noem and the MAGA Beauty Aesthetic

The Opinions Podcast

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From done-up hair to heavily applied makeup, conservative women — particularly those in President Trump’s orbit — deploy a specific aesthetic to signify their politics. Women like Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina are exemplars of this beauty trend, showing off a hyperfeminine look that is at odds with how they wield their power. In this episode,” Meher Ahmad, an editor for Times Opinion, and the Opinion writer Jessica Grose discuss why this aesthetic is tailored for social media’s algorithm — and what it’s really selling. Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.

Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/op...

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20 Comments

@marybardmess7953 1 year ago

Yes, indeed. As Dolly Parton once said, "It costs a lot to look this cheap."

@jenniferburns2530 1 year ago

Fox "News" has been promoting this look for their on air female talent for years.

@gogreen7794 1 year ago

I'm a 69 y.o. woman who has noticed this "look" for the past several years. I find it creepy, but it fits given how they want to attract Trump's attention or other powerful conservative men.
Reminds me of the "Stepford Wives."

@ma4450 1 year ago

The weird aesthetic spills down from the billionaire class, in an era when rich women are luxury accessories rather than aristocrats, and no woman has the confidence to look her age. Consider Lauren Sanchez or Melania Trump--doll-like women in their 50s, toy women pumped full of fillers and topped with masses of hair (extensions obligatory): doll-like eyelashes: a look that is plasticized, extreme, so frozen and artificial it can only be achieved and maintained through costly and constant effort. The ostentatious Christian cross is weird and ironic.

@Occam31 1 year ago

The cross is very important as it lets others know that while I may act like a ghoul I’m a Christian so it’s okay.

@IndianSummer79 1 year ago

My favorite MAGA beauty look is Vance’s smoky eye 🩷

@matthewdeheus3124 1 year ago

I call it the Pornhub look. That's where it seems they appropriated it from more than anything.

@leslierainer5001 1 year ago (edited)

I noticed this trend first on Fox going back at least 15 years, but it has turned into a very noticeable thing..yes it DOES seem drag-adjacent, which I find hilarious.

@Monika-mh2je 1 year ago

The bigger cross they're wearing, it's equal with their cruelty and how much lies they'll tell.

@termsofusepolice 1 year ago

Just started this... Hope the author did enough research to recognize this female beauty aesthetic has existed for decades within sects of American Christianity and is directly borrowed from evangelical mega-church culture.

@susannabutkus4064 1 year ago

Southern beauty pageant culture

@davidbaker5988 1 year ago

In my opinion, the MAGA Trump look is all about the power of shallow

@Jay-z2x 1 year ago

It’s actually called Mar-a-lago face and it’s been clocked before

@Yolololo-e9l 1 year ago (edited)

I'm not sure if this is irony, but most of them resemble men in drag more than those men in drag they're criticizing, I agree. It might be all the surgeries and makeup, or the workouts they all do, that give them that block body. They definitely have a distinct style.

@judiruthmeredith6427 1 year ago

It’s a cult. That’s it in a nutshell.

@beth3535 1 year ago

Inflated lips. Falsies (both types). Long hair (that weirdly doesn’t blow around in the wind).

@sandraphillips5091 1 year ago

I've seen a lot of women and girls, from teens to senior ladies, wearing absurdly long and thick false eyelashes that do nothing but make them look like cartoon characters

@ThinkingMan482 1 year ago

Pretty nice explanation of the roots of this glaring aesthetic. I've always been repelled by it. Now I have a better understanding of why. My very first thought about Noem when she was testifying the other day was "Why do they think that look is attractive?" Maybe attractive isn't the message. It feels aggressive and offensive to me.

@benjaminnead8557 1 year ago

Steve Schmidt refers to Krisi Noem as Ice Barbie, or maybe it's ICE Barbie. Either way, a fitting description.

@gaspikefan 1 year ago (edited)

That look has been very present in the evangelical church in red states for a long time. Thirty years or more. Because of this, there is also an association with faith. Back in the 90s, I called it the Church of God glamour armor.