The White House on Friday unveiled a limited-edition U.S. passport design to mark the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Dubbed the “Patriot Passport,” it features a portrait of President Donald Trump hunched over the Resolute Desk and scowling at the viewer, with the historic document partially obscured behind him.
Trump’s portrait is based on a photo by White House photographer Daniel Torok. His signature is shown below, written about as large as—if not larger than—John Hancock’s would be.
The opposite page shows detail from John Trumbull’s 1818 painting Declaration of Independence, and says “United States of America 250.” The back of the passport features a logo for “Freedom 250,” the Trump administration’s organization for commemorating the nation’s founding, which operates separately from the bipartisan, congressionally approved America 250 group.
The design is different from a previous design released in April that also showed a portrait of Trump. In a post on his social network, Trump wrote that the passport says “Welcome, but be good!”
Beginning July 6, the passport will be available at the Washington Passport Agency in Washington, D.C., as the default passport issued to any American who applies in person. The commemorative design is the sole standard-size passport that will be issued by the Washington Passport agency, and about 40,000 will be available until supplies last, a State Department spokesperson tells Fast Company. Standard passport fees apply.
United States of Trump
The limited-edition passport design is just the latest example of Trump using the country’s anniversary as a personal branding exercise.
Despite federal law prohibiting living people from appearing on currency, the U.S. Mint approved a commemorative coin featuring the same portrait of Trump with his fists on the desk. Concurrently, Trump appointees have pushed to get a $250 banknote that bears his likeness.
Trump’s face is also on a National Parks pass, and Trump has tied some of his building and renovation projects to the commemoration, like his proposed arch and his troubled renovations at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. And the UFC fight on the White House lawn was ostensibly for the country’s birthday but scheduled on Trump’s birthday.
No design better captures this trend than the passport, though. By overlaying the Declaration of Independence with Trump’s likeness, the administration is effectively obscuring the nation’s ideals with an image of a statistically unpopular president.