USA to Celebrate 250th Year With Trump’s Face on Passport
The latest iconography project of President Donald Trump involves the United States passport. For the 250th anniversary of the country, commemorative passports with Trump’s face will be issued.
The White House posted, “Patriot passport unlocked. Limited edition. Stamped for America 250.” Attached beneath this tweet is an updated US passport, with the first page featuring a signed image of Trump. The next page has a photo of the Founding Fathers.
No other United States president before Trump has ever commissioned their face on a passport. In fact, no other United States president outside of Trump mandated their image to be displayed on any federal identification card.
Many on social media criticized the recent move, comparing it to idolatry. One X user posted a golden bull meme of Trump and wrote, “MAGA worship your idol.”
The official White House account replied with an image of former President Barack Obama’s face featured on a SmartTrip Metro Card. The card commemorated Obama’s inauguration as the 44th president of the United States. But even this response compares apples to oranges. A SmartTrip Metro Card is not a government ID but a transportation card. Even non-citizens at the time could purchase SmartTrip Metro Cards with Obama’s face as a souvenir.
A passport, on the other hand, is proof of citizenship. To conflate the adoration of Trump with patriotism is erroneous, and the attempt from the administration is explicit.
Social media trolls the Trump US Passport
Americans groaned at the announcement, with one X user asking if they can opt to pay extra not to have Trump’s face on their document.
Trump’s estranged niece, Mary Trump, tweeted in relief. She wrote on X, “I’ve never been so relieved to have already renewed my passport.”
But the best response must be from Governor Gavin Newsom, who decided to create memes out of the situation. His press office wrote in Trump fashion, I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, WILL NOT ALLOW DONALD’S PHOTO IN OUR PASSPORTS. TRAVELLING IS STRESSFUL ENOUGH. WE DON’T NEED TO SCREAM IN HORROR OR LOSE OUR APPETITE EVERY TIME WE OPEN OUR PASSPORTS. THE JOY OF TRAVEL IS ESCAPISM. HOW CAN WE ESCAPE IF THE ORANGE FUNGUS IS ALWAYS AMONG US?”
Refusing to be outshone by Trump, Newsom also edited his face on the theoretical Newsom California driver’s license. The post garnered massive traction before its deletion.
Putting faces of sitting presidents on government identification documents is a distasteful act of self-promotion. If former President Biden had done the same, Republican-leaning voters would be screeching. They would accuse Biden of being a despot desperate for praise.
Another vanity project
Although the passport is highly unnecessary, the idea isn’t even Trump’s worst iconography project. If the funding for the White House ballroom is approved, Trump would be burning through $400 million in taxpayer money. Once said by Trump to be privately funded, the ballroom has now been justified as a necessity for national security after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Then, there’s also the proposal for the “Triumphal Arch,” which the Trump administration says is intended to commemorate the sacrifices of war heroes. This other, monumental plan is still just in the drafts, but the question to ask is, why is Trump launching a variety of iconography and beautification projects?
Trump has already likened himself to Abraham Lincoln. Moreover, the president has also renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by adding his name. These patterns suggest that the president has a grandiose view of himself. It seems that for Trump, there’s no better way to glorify the self than to erect monuments and structures that will be linked back to him.
(featured image: US State Department)
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