The official photo of the 47th President of the United States, unveiled for his inauguration, bears a striking resemblance to the famous “mug shot”, taken during his brief incarceration in an Atlanta prison, in August 2023.
Is this voluntary? Knowing the character, it is tempting to answer in the affirmative. This Thursday, January 16, the official photo of Donald Trump for his inauguration on January 20 was revealed in the press and on social networks. Intense look, slightly furrowed eyebrow, closed face, the 47th President of the United States poses in front of an American flag. The photo fits perfectly with the image of the Republican billionaire. But it also recalls another photo of the president-elect, less flattering, taken a few months earlier: the now famous “photo d’identification».
On August 24, 2023, the billionaire surrendered to the authorities of the state of Georgia, suspected of maneuvers. “criminals” targeting the results of the 2020 elections. When indicted, he, like any American defendant, had to comply with the legal ID photo, which must be attached to his file. From the same angle, he displayed the same stern expression and determined look as in his official portrait. If the future president had finally been released on bail, this photo had gone around the world, since no American president had been entitled to it until now.
A marketing use of the mugshot
Rather than being ashamed of it, Donald Trump then used it as a standard, publishing it himself on the social network X. He made it the ideal symbol of the legal persecution from which he claimed to suffer. His supporters quickly appropriated the cliché, which was even used on merchandise during the presidential campaign. It is therefore difficult not to see in the official portrait a deliberate nod to this legendary photo. Especially since the official portrait of his first mandate had absolutely nothing to do with it. All smiles, the Trump of 2017 displayed a much more jovial face than that of 2025.
