Starting July 6, you can get a US passport with a photo of Donald Trump inside it: fists on the Resolute Desk, the Declaration of Independence behind him, his signature printed below. The State Department says it's a limited-edition "America 250" design, available only while supplies last.
It's the first time a living, current president has appeared on a US passport. Current passports show things like the Moon landing and the Statue of Liberty. This one shows the president.
Now the part the internet got wrong. Announcing it on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the passport "says, 'Welcome, but be good!'" That phrase is nowhere in the passport images he posted. The White House reshared the pages on X and called it a "patriot passport" — no "welcome but be good" there either. The caption is real; it's just Trump's, not the document's.
The other thing worth knowing: almost nobody will be able to get one easily. You can't apply online or by mail. You have to book an in-person appointment at the passport agency in Washington DC, or attend one of a handful of special "acceptance events." As of now only two such events are listed, both at the Washington Passport Agency. [1]
The passport was first floated in April with a different look — just Trump's face, a gold signature, no "250." The version unveiled this week adds the anniversary numbers and changes the signature to black.
It's not a one-off. The US Mint has announced a commemorative gold coin featuring Trump for the anniversary, and he's set to be the first sitting president with his signature on American banknotes. The passport joins a longer run of his name and likeness on federal buildings, websites, and documents.
One question the State Department hasn't answered: whether people who show up for in-person appointments at the DC agency can opt out of the special edition, or whether the Trump passport is simply what they'll be handed.
The mockery online has zeroed in less on the photo than on the caption. A widely shared post, racking up well over a thousand likes, points out the obvious problem with "Welcome, but be good!" on a document Americans carry abroad. [2]
“He’s such a moron! He put his putrid orange face on a new limed-edition America250 passport with the phrase, “Welcome, but be good!” Passports are issued to American citizens, not visitors entering the country! 🤣”
More events will be added "as they are announced," the department says. For now, the patriot passport is real, very hard to get, and does not say what its most famous reviewer says it says.
Sources
Primary source: Trump unveils new US 'patriot passports' featuring his image
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