Sources confirm the State Department has approved a special edition passport for the United States’ 250th anniversary, featuring a portrait of Donald Trump on the cover. The design, which places Trump’s profile where the Great Seal once stood, has ignited a furious row over whether the republic is drifting towards monarchical symbolism. Leaked documents show the Bureau of Consular Affairs signed off on 250,000 commemorative booklets, each bearing the president’s face above the words “Land of the Free.
” Critics call it a violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause and a step towards personality cult governance. “This is not a royal warrant. This is a passport,” said a senior State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“But the message is clear: the state is now synonymous with one man.” The design has been compared to British passports, which carry the royal crest. But unlike the Queen, Trump is not a symbol of the state, he is the head of government.
The timing is telling. The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence falls on 4 July 2026, but the passports will go on sale from January 2025, just as the presidential campaign heats up. The move reeks of self-aggrandisement and a contempt for democratic norms.
Taxpayers will foot the bill for the special printing, estimated at $2.7 million. Meanwhile, the State Department has been barred from commenting on the record.
The legacy of George Washington, who refused a crown, has been traded for a laminated mugshot.
