Donald Trump has revealed the mystery behind his distinctive orange hue and apparently it’s not dodgy fake tan.

The US president, whose trademark tone has been the butt of ridicule, has blamed energy efficient light bulbs for changing the appearance of his skin.

Light bulbs have long been a target of Mr Trump’s stance against environmental regulations and his administration recently weakened laws requiring more energy-efficient versions of common light bulbs.

In a long and rambling speech to Republication legislators in Baltimore, the president railed against green light bulbs that people were “being forced to use” and took aim at other environmental issues.

Mr Trump blamed energy-efficient bulbs for creating bad lighting that altered his skin tone.

He also claimed the bulbs – which can use between 25 and 80 per cent less energy than traditional versions – were more expensive than incandescent lighting, hazardous and “not good”.

“The bulb that we’re being forced to use – number one, to me, most importantly, the light is no good,” Mr Trump said.

“I always look orange. And so do you. The light is the worst.

“But number two, it’s many times more expensive than that old incandescent bulb that worked very well.

“And very importantly – I don’t know if you know this – they have warnings. If it breaks, it’s considered a hazardous waste site. It’s gasses inside.”

Mr Trump said people were happy about his administration’s decision to “solve incandescent bulbs”.

No, @realDonaldTrump — light bulbs do NOT make everyone look orange. It’s just you. You’re the ONLY one who’s orange. It’s either your lousy tanning job or it’s your strangely unnatural complexion. But don’t blame the friggin’ light bulb.💡 https://t.co/7jwueZfxGh

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) September 13, 2019

The president also took a swipe at popular grassroots movements to eradicate the use of plastic straws which contaminate the environment.

“And then they talk about plastic straws. I say, ‘What about the plate? What about the wrapper that’s made out of a much tougher plastic? What about all the other plastic?’

“Can you explain the straw? No, I don’t think so. Nobody else can either.”

Rounding out his anti-environment comments, Mr Trump said the Paris Climate Accord would “do nothing to improve our environment”.

“It would only punish our country while foreign polluters operate with impunity,” he said.

“You look at China, you look at India, you look at Russia, you look at so many other places, their smokestacks are pouring out.

“Everything is pouring out. And I want to be clean. And we’re going to be clean.”