Trump’s startling new official photo stuns

Donald Trump has revealed his official portrait and it’s certainly arresting with the scowling image leaning heavily into his infamous mugshot.

Donald Trump has revealed his new official portrait. And it’s quiet something.

While incoming Vice President JD Vance opted for a standard pose by smiling in front of the US flag, Mr Trump’s is altogether different.

“Mugshot vibes,” said one person on social media.

And not without cause. Mr Trump’s new portrait appears to riff off his famous police image when he was indicted for election racketeering in Georgia in 2023. That case has stalled with Mr Trump’s re-election.

In his 2017 image he was all smiles, now Mr Trump is scowling at the camera and is lit from below heavily mimicking the mugshot snap.

However, the 2017 image wasn’t released until nine months after he became president. A stand in image of Mr Trump, which was used for a time after his initial inauguration, was not dissimilar to the new portrait.

The official portraits of the president and vice president are generally hung in public areas of some 9600 US government buildings as well as embassies and consulates overseas.

The new official portraits of Donald Trump and JD Vance.

‘It goes hard’

The Trump-Vance Transition Team released the images and in a statement said “they go hard”.

The new images were taken by Mr Trump’s chief photographer Daniel Torok.

“We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!” he said gushingly on a post on X.

Trump supporters online, not unsurprisingly, welcomed the striking portrait.

“This is a history making photo,” said one.

His new photo is in stark contrast to the all smiles official image released in 2017.

“I love the lighting on DJT. You managed to capture an ethereal combination of strength and reassurance,” said another.

“Trump liked his police mugshot so much, he’s using something similar for his official presidential portrait,” was one comment.

Indeed, Mr Trump has capitalised on the iconic image from Fulton County Jail and it has been plastered on T-shirts, bumper stickers and lots more Trump merchandise.

Donald Trump’s new portrait (right) echoes his 2023 mugshot (left).

‘Is this a joke?’

Others were not so complimentary. “Is this a joke?” said one critic of the portrait.

“Bit ominous isn’t it?” said another.

Donald Trump’s presidential portraits from his first term (2017) and second term (2025). pic.twitter.com/iZSajslZNr

— Creepy (@creepydotorg) January 16, 2025

Others likened the 2017 and 2025 official portraits of Mr Trump to the images taken in hit series Squid Game of lead character Gi-Hun. In the first series his snap was full of joy; in the second series, after all the killings, his snap was full of anger.

Mr Trump will become the 47th president of the United States at around noon on Monday January 20 (3am, Tuesday AEDT) at a ceremony in Washington DC.

Originally published as Trump’s startling new official photo stuns