H​​ere at Slate we like to keep tabs on politicians’ unexpected beard growth, if only to attempt to divine what might be going on in the heads of these famous men. So we must report that a new beard has been spotted, this time on erstwhile Trump White House employee (and Trump family member) Jared Kushner.

This beard, which was first featured in his wife Ivanka Trump’s Instagram in mid-January, was subtle at first. But a Jan. 22 Instagram post that appeared to show it at a later and potentially maxed-out stage of growth caught our attention for being—well, take a look:

A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump)

There’s something troubling about this beard, aesthetically. It’s patchy. It’s unshaped. Some here at Slate believe the beard makes Kushner look younger, presumably because the wispy quality of the facial hair only emphasizes how unnervingly youthful the 43-year-old Kushner’s face is. (Plus, it doesn’t hide his dimples.) Some think it makes him look older, presumably because it obscures the youthful crispness of his jawline, and because the blond patches could be mistaken for gray. The........

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