In what sources describe as a bizarre and self-serving gesture, President Donald Trump has ordered his own portrait to be printed on a limited edition run of US passports to mark the nation's 250th anniversary. The move, which bypassed standard State Department protocols, has been met with outright refusal by the British printing firm contracted for the job.
Documents obtained by this newspaper show that the White House requested a special 'Presidential Edition' passport featuring Trump's face on the cover, replacing the traditional Great Seal. The plan was to issue 250,000 of these passports to select citizens as a birthday keepsake. But when the order reached the UK-based De La Rue, one of the world's oldest security printers, their master engravers walked off the job.
'A man's face on a passport is not a stamp of honour, it is a mark of vanity,' said a senior engraver who spoke on condition of anonymity. 'We are craftsmen, not propagandists. This is a line we will not cross.'
De La Rue, which has printed banknotes and passports for over 200 years, issued a carefully worded statement confirming that they 'respectfully declined to proceed with the requested design'. The company cited 'artistic integrity' and 'concerns over the politicisation of national identity documents'.
Internal emails reveal a frantic scramble within the White House. One aide wrote: 'The British are being difficult. Suggest we find a Chinese printer.' Another warned: 'This could leak. The media will have a field day.'
And leak it did. The American Civil Liberties Union has already filed a lawsuit, arguing that the passports violate constitutional prohibitions on using public office for personal gain. 'This is not a monarch's coronation medal. This is a passport, a document of state, not a souvenir,' said ACLU attorney Sarah Silverman.
The State Department, caught in the middle, issued a terse statement: 'Standard passport designs remain unchanged. Any special editions would require congressional approval, which has not been sought.'
But the damage may already be done. The passport scheme, which sources say cost taxpayers $2.3 million in design fees and materials, is now likely to be scrapped. The 50,000 blank passport books already printed with Trump's face will be destroyed, a process that itself carries a hefty price tag.
This is not the first time Trump has sought to brand official documents with his image. In 2020, he proposed adding his signature to stimulus cheques. But putting his face on the nation's primary identity document crosses a line that even his loyalists find hard to defend.
'It's a bridge too far,' said a former White House aide who requested anonymity. 'Even for him, this is narcissism on a scale that boggles the mind.'
The irony is not lost on the British engravers. 'We have printed for kings and queens, but never for a man who mistakes his own face for a national treasure,' said the source. 'The 250th birthday of the United States deserves better.'
