Trump’s New Portrait Is as Perverse as His Second Term
Because apparently a gold-framed mugshot, chorus of New York Post covers, and raised-fist propagandist painting weren’t enough, another portrait of President Donald Trump has entered the West Wing.
The White House revealed the new addition yesterday, June 2, in an X video scored to music strangely reminiscent of the Austin Powers theme song. It has also since been uploaded to the White House’s website. A White House spokesperson told CBS News that the portrait, which is currently on display in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, will soon replace all official photographs of the president hanging in federal establishments.
The photograph, which has the uncanny aesthetic of an image generated by ChatGPT, depicts an unamused Trump in a red tie and blue suit emerging from an eerie, shadowy abyss. His face, which is subtly illuminated by a warm overhead light, is sharply defined and close to the frame, as though craning his neck awkwardly forward, while his body is out of focus. There are no indications of the Oval Office, or of the United States, for that matter, save for a singular Star-Spangled banner pin affixed to his left lapel — a deviation from official White House portrait traditions that trace back to former President Gerald Ford. Prior to Ford, most presidents were captured similarly stone-faced against a nondescript background.
CBS News reported that the new picture was taken by Chief White House photographer Daniel Torok, who also took Trump’s former official portrait for his inauguration. The previous photo of the president, showing him in a cerulean tie with the American flag hanging in the background, was widely compared to his notorious mugshot, in which he bears the same stern facial expression. It is unclear why the White House has issued another photograph.
Most notably, both 2025 portraits veer sharply away from Trump’s 2017 first-term portrait, which depicts the president with a cheery grin in an evenly lit setting. This noticeable shift in his expression, perhaps deliberately, echoes what many political scientists have warned is Trump’s transition from maintaining the facade of a liberal democracy in his first term to embracing a form of authoritarianism.
But maybe the strangest and most disturbing aspect of the new portrait is the timing of its release. Just days ago, Trump said on social media that he had fired Kim Sajet, the longtime director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC — the museum that is home to the country’s only complete collection of presidential portraits outside of the White House. Trump cited Sajet’s “inappropriate” support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives as the reason for her termination, which it’s unclear whether he has the authority to carry out.
The new portrait received mixed reviews on social media. While Trump supporters predictably applauded the photograph, critics seized the opportunity to deploy a slew of humorous, mostly AI-generated memes in reference to Wall Street’s new nickname for the US leader: Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO), a dig at his cowardly and constantly changing approach to trade policy. And frankly, I can’t say I disagree.
