In early 2025, a video making the rounds online allegedly showed U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order to ban men from wearing skinny jeans.
The video spread across various social media platforms in February, including TikTok, Threads and X, (archived, archived, archived). The rumor started circulating the previous month on Facebook (archived, archived, archived), X (archived, archived), Instagram (archived, archived), Threads and YouTube.
The video was originally posted on Instagram, amassing more than 72,000 likes as of this writing. The caption read: "Trump signs an executive order demanding grown men no longer wear skinny jeans."
The footage also featured a Fox News "Breaking News" chyron that read: "TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR NO MEN'S SKINNY JEANS."
In the clip, a man can be heard briefing Trump on the document in front of him, saying: "And lastly, sir, we have an executive order demanding that grown men stop wearing skinny jeans."
Trump then responds: "That's a big one, huh? Lot of people are waiting for this for a long, for years, for decades."
The video was fake and was created by editing real footage of the president signing a raft of executive orders.
On Jan. 25, 2025, the creator of a men's style YouTube channel and its linked Instagram page originally posted the footage. Barry Hulsey, who runs the accounts, confirmed via DM that the clip was fake. He said he created it using traditional editing and that no artificial intelligence software was used.
Hulsey also confirmed to a commenter on the video that it was not real, saying: "Real as a unicorn."
(@thehulseystyle)
Google and Bing search results produced no evidence of Trump signing an executive order banning men from wearing skinny jeans. Likewise, no credible news outlets reported on such a story.
Hulsey also posted another YouTube Short, reusing the same format to falsely suggest that Trump had banned "grown men" from wearing the shoe brand Crocs.
On Jan. 24, 2025, the official White House YouTube channel posted a full and legitimate video of Trump signing executive orders. At the 4:29 mark, the president is briefed on the next executive order. In the video, the directive is about declassifying files relating to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights campaigner Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump's reaction — where he said that people had been waiting "for years, for decades" for this directive — is used in the edited video about skinny jeans.