New RNC Records Show Trump’s Republicans Spending Lavishly on Hair, Makeup, and Media Prep

The Republican National Committee quietly spent more than $59,000 last year to make people look camera ready, according to campaign filings first reported by NOTUS and picked up by other outlets.

Most of that cash, $53,850, went to hair and makeup artist Brittany Goetz. The RNC listed the payments under a catchall called media preparation, but did not say exactly what services were bought or which people were made up on which days.

A smaller sum went to Washington based makeup artist Carola Myers. Her public pages show she has worked for Joe Biden, Glenn Youngkin, Donald Trump Jr., and Kimberly Guilfoyle. That list makes the receipts read more like a who is who of politics than a single party roster.

The total the RNC reported for the April to November 2025 period was described in the filings as media preparation. Campaigns and parties often budget for hair and makeup before TV appearances and photo shoots. Still, the size of the bills drew attention given recent photos and viral moments.

One of the sparks was a close up portrait of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in Vanity Fair. The photo, shot by Christopher Anderson, drew wide attention after viewers said it showed marks from lip injections. The White House pushed back. “It’s clear that Vanity Fair intentionally photographed Karoline and the White House staff in bizarre ways,” a White House spokesperson said.

That portrait and other near moments fed a growing online trend mocking a certain look tied to conservatives. The phrase Republican makeup and the related label Mar a Lago face began to appear across social feeds and late night routines. Some creators treat it as satire. Others see it as personal attack.

Comedian Suzanne Lambert helped the trend go viral. “I noticed that all of the Republican girlies in my comments do their makeup the exact same, gorgeous way, so I thought that I would try to do it myself,” she said in a TikTok clip that has millions of views. “We really want our makeup to cling to any dry spots and accentuate any texture.” The line landed and the joke spread.

Not everyone thinks the mockery is harmless. Ethics experts pointed out that image work is a real part of modern campaigns. “In Trump land, as we all know, they all wear about a ton of makeup,” Meredith McGehee, a lobbying and ethics expert, told reporters. That remark helped move the story from finance pages to culture pages.

President Donald Trump has himself been a regular subject in coverage about public makeup. Reporters have noted his use of face makeup and concealer on his hands. Late night hosts have had a field day, and the public debate now mixes humor with questions about how campaigns spend donor money.

The Democratic National Committee has made similar payments in past cycles, including a smaller payment reported for a makeup artist who worked with former vice president Kamala Harris. Those entries show that parties of both sides budget for image work when media moments matter.

The RNC and the White House did not offer new comment when asked about the payments and the photos. For now the receipts sit in the public record and the photos sit online

Featured image via X screengrab