President Donald Trump made another bold claim on Monday, this time stating that when he was younger, people said he looked like Elvis Presley, "except for the blond hair." Trump's statement came while he was hosting a rally in the birthplace of the rock and roll icon, Tupelo, Mississippi, ahead of the state's runoff election for U.S. Senate Tuesday between Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Epsy.
"Tupelo, home of thousands of hard-working American patriots, and the proud birthplace of the king of rock n' roll, Elvis. Elvis! We love Elvis," Trump said in an appearance alongside Hyde-Smith. "I shouldn't say this, you'll say I'm very conceited because I'm not but other than the blonde hair, when I was growing up they said I looked like Elvis. Can you believe it? I always considered that a great compliment."
Pres. Trump, in Tupelo, MS, the birthplace of Elvis Presley: "Other than the blonde hair, when I was growing up they said I looked like Elvis...I always considered that a great compliment." https://t.co/NkJuIoh4fP pic.twitter.com/uBAzhWwA9G
— ABC News (@ABC) November 26, 2018
Trump's comments came 10 days after he posthumously awarded Presley the country's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Our final Medal of Freedom—and here's another one who's just very incredible—today goes to one of the most beloved artists and most enduring cultural icons that has ever lived," Trump said before awarding the honor to President and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Jack Soden. "The 'King of Rock and Roll'—the true king, and you have to say that—Elvis Aaron Presley.
In prepared remarks, Trump said that Presley had come from "humble beginnings in Mississippi." He also noted the cultural icon's commitment to his country.
"Deeply patriotic, Elvis served in the U.S. military at the height of his fame. He had a choice. And, to him, it wasn't a choice," Trump said.
While Trump claimed it was only hair color that prevented him from being a true Elvis lookalike, Presley's natural hair color was in fact blonde. Presley's hairstylist revealed in 2015 that "The King" "wanted that black, black color."
Trump's own hair has been the subject of much speculation. The president's health exam earlier this year revealed that he was continuing to take a hair-loss drug. According to Michael Wolff's account in the book Fire and Fury, Trump's daughter Ivanka jokes about her father's hair with friends and says that its color is down to popular haircare product Just For Men.
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