President Donald Trump’s visit to the U.K. certainly got a lot of people talking. However, it wasn’t always in a way those involved would necessarily appreciate – from Brits taking to the streets to protest Donald’s presence, to netizens taking aim at First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe. Then, there was the state dinner at Windsor Castle, which got social media users feeling bad for Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, who was seated right next to the president for the lavish affair. And for her sake, we just hope all those rumors about Donald’s body odor aren’t actually true.

Things started awkwardly enough between the president and the princess, with Donald attempting to charm Kate upon their first meeting, no doubt prompting an eye roll from Melania. Still, Kate was all smiles in an Instagram post from a royal fan account collecting photos of her from the Trumps’ visit. And while several commenters took this at face value, not all of them were convinced that it was entirely genuine. “I’m so sorry she had to sit next to him.. but I’m sure she handled it with grace and charm.. she soooo beautiful!!” one Instagram user commented. “As a USA citizen, I apologize to Katherine for having to sit next to him. William and Katherine handle everything with such grace,” another remarked. One of the top comments on the post simply read, “Poor Catherine.” Of course, Kate’s true feelings about the whole thing are a matter of speculation, as is whether or not Donald smelled especially bad. But why is that a question in the first place?

If you’re wondering why exactly there’s a pervasive rumor that Donald Trump tends to smell bad, it’s because a number of people who have shared space with him over the years have claimed that to be the case. One such individual was Adam Kinzinger, a fellow Republican and former congressman from Illinois who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2011 to January 2023, meaning he would have been on Capitol Hill for the entirety of Donald’s first term as president. “I’m genuinely surprised how people close to Trump haven’t talked about the odor,” Kinzinger wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in December 2023, adding, “It’s truly something to behold. Wear a mask if you can.”

Kinzinger described Donald’s alleged odor during a September 2024 appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” saying, “So, if you take, like, armpits, ketchup, makeup, and a little butt, it’s probably like that, all mixed up.” That said, he also added the caveat, “Maybe it wasn’t permanent, or all the time, but it’s there.” Still, comedian Kathy Griffin appeared to corroborate Kinzinger’s account during a late-2023 interview with Mary L. Trump, Donald’s estranged niece. “It’s like body odor with kind of like a scented makeup products [sic] … you can smell the hair products, even outdoors,” Griffin said. At a September 2025 presser, Donald Trump himself even seemed to accidentally admit there may be some truth to the rumors, remarking that First Lady Melania Trump often laments the fact that she can’t open windows in the White House to get fresh air.