Trump's Eyes At 2024 Debate Have Everyone Staring For All The Wrong Reasons

During his first debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, all eyes were sure to be on former president Donald Trump. However, within just the first few minutes, it was Trump's eyes that seemed to have grabbed many folks' attention. No matter what the two presidential candidates did during this debate, people were sure to be talking about the event all over social media, though it is unusual that the first thing sparking conversation is that Trump's eyes looked strange.

As commentary poured in on X, formerly known as Twitter, folks had varied opinions regarding Trump's look and what was causing it. Most folks agreed on one thing, however: something seemed off. One X user wrote, "Trump can't keep his eyes open! What is that about??" "Is Trump AWAKE?? He finally opened his eyes 30 minutes in," another noted. If Trump's strange look was a result of sleepiness, it wouldn't necessarily be a surprise. Many folks pointed out his exhausted appearance in court back in April during his criminal fraud trial, and he made an equally notably sleepy display at the 2024 Republican National Convention. 

Furthermore, Trump surely underwent countless hours of debate prep to get ready for the monumental night. Even so, looking tired and lacking energy and enthusiasm while in a debate isn't a good look — especially for someone debating an opponent who is nearly 20 years his junior. The possibility that Trump's odd look was due to tiredness makes for bad optics, but other folks' theories were even worse.

Folks on social media don't tend to be afraid of sharing conspiracy theories, so unsurprisingly, the mysterious look and movements of Trump's eyes quickly sparked a few. "Watch Trump's eyes — someone is talking in his ear while she is speaking," said one X user. Another suggested, "Trump looks positively reptilian tonight. His eyes are half closed and blank. I half expect him to stick out his forked tongue." Others suggested that a substance might be behind his unfocused look."Trump's eyes are so bloodshot. What drugs is he on?" someone asked. Donald tRump [sic] is totally messed up, he can't even keep his eyes open," said another. "Trumps [sic] eyes are sliding back and forth. Weird. Drugs?" another user asked.

While some folks came up with wild explanations for his look, others had a simpler theory, putting the blame on Trump's typical makeup faux pas: applying makeup in such a way that it makes the skin around his eyes much lighter than on the rest of his face. One X user suggested, "Getting some orange concealer underneath Trump's eyes needs to be someone's top priority during the commercial break. It looks upsetting." Another had the same idea, writing, "Trump need to go debate with whoever did his makeup because why tf they put that orange a** foundation on everything but his damn eyes? Make it make sense!" 

Evidently, many folks took note of Donald Trump's tired, unfocused eyes during the presidential debate. However, others were less focused on the look of his eyes and more focused on his eye contact with his opponent. Kamala Harris notably made the first move of the debate when she approached Trump at his podium to shake his hand. Trump, on the other hand, seemed less eager to meet the vice president for a handshake. As far as many viewers were concerned, this dynamic subtly continued throughout the debate.

"Trump cant even look her in the eyes LMAOOOOOOOO," one user wrote. "20 MINUTES IN. [Harris] looked at Trump many times, where he didn't move his eyes away from the [moderators]," one said. Another even wanted Harris to address the lack of eye contact, writing, "Need Kamala to tell Trump to 'look me in the eyes when you're talking.'" 

We may never know exactly what was behind the odd look in Trump's eyes during the debate, but we can likely all agree that whatever is going on, Trump would probably have preferred everyone focused less on his distracting look and more on his words.