“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Another State Department official said there would be no extra charge for the passport.
There are few modern precedents anywhere in the world, let alone in a democracy, of sitting leaders’ pictures appearing in passports, with most countries preferring to depict historical imagery or nature.
Current US passports depict multiple scenes from the country’s history such as the moon landing with historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty.
Since returning to office last year, Trump has slapped himself on government institutions in an unprecedented way, with several government buildings in Washington putting up banners of him and Trump imposing his name on the Kennedy Centre performing arts centre and the dismantled US Institute of Peace.
Last month, the Treasury Department said Trump’s signature would start appearing on the dollar, in another first.
Britain and other Commonwealth countries feature on their currency the likeness of King Charles III, who is a head of state without direct involvement in politics. The King was meeting Trump on Tuesday during a state visit to Washington.
The Fox News article said that the Trump-themed passports would only be issued in Washington and that they would run out when there is no further availability.
It was not immediately clear if an American could refuse the Trump-themed passport.
- Agence France-Presse
