Overview
- President Donald Trump posted a mock-up of the limited-edition America250 passport on Truth Social on Friday showing a large portrait, his signature, and the caption “Welcome, but be good!”
- The State Department has said the commemorative passport will be available at the Washington Passport Agency beginning July 6 and will be the default issue there while stocks last, with standard designs remaining available elsewhere.
- It is not yet clear whether the exact image and the phrase Trump shared are the final official artwork, and the posted rendering differs from earlier State Department designs by using a White House photographer’s portrait.
- The commemorative booklet will keep standard security features but, if issued as shown, would make Trump the first sitting U.S. president to appear inside Americans’ passports and will be produced in a limited run.
- Reactions have ranged from praise to criticism over personal branding of federal items and confusion about the caption’s meaning, and the rollout has intensified debate about placing a living president’s likeness on government documents.