News broke Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s face would soon appear on new U.S. passports. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, given the way Trump has been slapping his name on various buildings, planning to plaster his face on two different coins this summer, and naming government initiatives after himself. Have you signed up for a Trump Account or TrumpRX yet?
But there has been some confusion about how widespread the Trump passports will be, perhaps because Fox News raced out an “exclusive” on the story after the White House press office apparently tipped off Fox that another competing news outlet was going to break the story. The Fox story is confusing and has left people with questions.
Will every U.S. citizen get a Trump passport? When do the new passports start? And how can I avoid getting a passport that bears the face of our dipshit president?
What will the new Trump passports look like?
The Bulwark obtained images of the new passport, which includes a portrait of President Trump in front of a copy of the Declaration of Independence. The President’s signature will also be included in gold-colored ink.
Trump will be on the first page of the passport, which has featured an illustration of Francis Scott Key since 2021.
The normal passport includes lines from “The Star-Spangled Banner,” including “O say does that star / spangled banner yet wave / O’er the land of the free / and the home of the brave.”
Who will be getting the new Trump passports?
The passports will reportedly be available to all Americans, but only 25,000 to 30,000 will be printed, according to NPR.
When will the passports become available?
The passports will become available shortly before July 4, according to NPR, though the exact date is still unclear.
Where will the passports be distributed?
This part is the key. Applicants at the Washington, D.C., passport office will get the new passport by default, and it will be the only one available at the Washington Passport Agency, according to the Washington Post. If you steer clear of that office, you should be fine. But the passport will also be available online for people outside of DC, according to NPR, so be careful if you’re applying through that channel.
Why is Trump doing this?
Officially, the U.S. State Department says that it’s all about the Semiquincentennial, which will be observed this July 4.
“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News.
Unofficially, we all know the real reason, because Trump’s face has nothing to do with the Semiquincentennial. President Trump is a narcissist who wants to put his name and face on everything, something extremely common in authoritarian countries run by fascist assholes.
ATTENTION TO anyone in the WH press corps.
We asked WH for comment this morning with a 1230 deadline. they asked us for a few more hours to track the story down. we were gracious about it. they then gave it to Fox News (which doesn't have nearly the same deets we do) https://t.co/nl49d2RZdb
— Sam Stein (@samstein) April 28, 2026
How can I avoid getting a Trump passport?
It seems like the best way to avoid getting a passport featuring President Trump is to just stay the hell out of Washington, D.C. But if you’re looking to renew your passport in the near future, now might be a good time to do it. Why? It seems very likely that Trump might roll out the passport with his face printed on it after this initial run.
The president wants to put his stamp on everything. He’s making new banknotes with his signature on them (a first in history), he’s releasing a $1 coin and a commemorative coin, and he wants to build an arch in Washington that will serve as a monument to himself.
All of that is already in motion, but one imagines Trump has even more ambitious plans after the midterm elections this November. If you thought the president was unhinged in the first half of his second term, just wait until he’s truly unencumbered and doesn’t need to think about how public opinion will restrain him from 2027 onward.
We don’t have any evidence yet that Trump plans to roll out the passports with his face more widely. But it’s one of those things you can imagine happening very easily.
