Dem Rep. Grows Beard So People Stop Confusing Him With His Better Known Twin

Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who represents the San Antonio area, said last week that he’s fed up with strangers confusing him for his better known twin brother, 2020 presidential candidate Julian Castro.

To curb the issue, which Castro told reporters on Thursday happens “just about every day,” he decided to grow a beard.

Sorry, I can’t do that just yet. https://t.co/6XEuYb21YD

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) July 25, 2019

“I hadn’t shaved in like three days and I decided I’d just grow the beard back – and it does help so that people don’t always think that I’m running for president,” he said, according to USA Today.

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Castro said he is often mistaken for his brother, “Like in the airport or somewhere else – on the streets.”

Even pundits who get paid for knowing the ins and outs of the political world have gotten the Castro twins mixed up. Following an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in June, political commentator Noah Rothman mistook Joaquin for Julian.

No worries at all. It literally happens everyday! I hope all is well otherwise.

— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) June 20, 2019

Why the Joaquin Castro beard might not be the worst idea

Americans can perhaps be forgiven for mistaking Joaquin Castro for his brother given the, arguably, higher public profile of his twin, who was born one minute before him.

Google Trends comparison data shows that over the last 12 months, users showed significantly more interest in searching for the term “Julian Castro” than for “Joaquin Castro.”

Meanwhile, typing the name of the elder Castro brother into Google returns 39,700,000 results, which is more than the 20,400,000 results generated by searching for “Joaquin Castro.”

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If recent social media comments are any indication, the younger Castro’s strategy appears to be working.

Isn't that @JulianCastro? Oh no, wait, this guy has a beard. Nevermind.

— Concerned Citizen (@politicsbos) July 24, 2019

“Isn’t that @JulianCastro? Oh no, wait, this guy has a beard. Nevermind,” remarked one Twitter user in response to a video of Castro questioning former special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday.

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