US to issue ‘America250’ passports featuring Donald Trump’s image

The United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.

The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of the US’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document.
Tommy Pigott, a state department spokesperson, said in a statement the passports would feature “customized artwork and enhanced imagery” while retaining existing security features, describing the US passport as one of “the most secure documents in the world”.

The passports form part of the administration’s “America250” celebrations, a program that also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall and a UFC fight on the White House south lawn.

The state department said it would release a limited number of the passports for the “historic occasion” but would not confirm how many there would be.

The passport is just the latest in Trump’s effort to plaster his face across US institutions and documents. A banner of the president’s face already graces the Department of Justice building in Washington, along with others hanging on the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture, where it is featured alongside Abraham Lincoln beneath the words “Growing America Since 1862”.