In case you missed it, President Donald Trump's new presidential portrait was unveiled just before his inauguration—but it has social media users weirded out now that they've realized that half of his face kind of resembles Joe Biden.
The portrait features Trump dressed in a blue suit and tie, standing before an American flag. The composition is tightly framed, focusing on his face and upper chest. His expression is stern, with a slightly raised eyebrow.
You can see it below.
Library of Congress
But it didn't take long for someone to point out this inconvenient truth:
"If you cover the right side of his face with your hand and squint he looks like Joe biden."
Have a look for yourself!
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Others raised the same question.
Many tried this out for themselves—and they couldn't disagree.
In a press release, the Trump-Vance transition team said the photos of Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance—whose own photo is less tightly framed and shows him smiling—"go hard," adding:
"In just four days, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States and JD Vance as the 50th Vice President of the United States — and their official portraits are here."
But the image of Trump in particular, The New York Times wrote last week, "does not exactly scream celebration," noting that Trump is "shown sternly squinting, bathed in eerie, David Lynchian lighting from below, high-powered strobes reflected in his eyes" in a pose not dissimilar to the one "he struck for his 2024 mug shot, taken by the Fulton County, Georgia, sheriff’s office in that state’s election interference case."
Trump's portrait, captured a few weeks ago by his chief photographer, Daniel Torok, was specifically intended for the inauguration. A separate photograph will soon be chosen as his official presidential portrait, which will then be distributed to government agencies and American embassies worldwide.
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