Trump's White House portrait looks a lot like his mugshot, and the internet has noticed

The president's official portrait looks strikingly similar.
By
Anna Iovine
 on 
Copis of Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump mugshot are seen on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15
Credit: Leon Neal / Getty Images

The White House website received a makeover as soon as Donald Trump was sworn in on Inauguration Day. In addition to an apparent fancam when one goes to the homepage, portraits of Trump and key members of his administration are displayed.

portraits of donald trump, jd vance, melania trump, and photo of white house
Credit: Screenshot: whitehouse.gov

Trump's official White House portrait is a straight-on angle. The president isn't smiling and has a furrowed brow — not unlike Trump's mugshot:

donald trump mugshot
Credit: Fulton County Sherrif's Office

In the year and a half since the mugshot was taken, Trump's mugshot has been reclaimed by his fans, used on merchandise along with phrases like, "Never surrender," which Trump said after his assassination attempt in July. While Trump's new portrait doesn't appear to be the exact photo, it recreates it:

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white house portrait of donald trump
Credit: White House

The photo has brighter lighting and a different background, but the two look strikingly similar.

That similarity has not been lost on social media users, who called it out directly.

Topics Donald Trump

anna iovine, a white woman with curly chin-length brown hair, smiles at the camera
Anna Iovine
Associate Editor, Features

Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky.


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