Donald Trump has long relished emblazoning hotels, golf clubs and merchandise with his name and likeness, but he has ramped up this effort in recent months.
The US President has faced criticism for his plans for an “Arc de Trump” to mimic the Paris monument, designs for a presidential library featuring a golden Trump statue and his attempt to rename the Kennedy Center (overturned by the courts earlier this month).
Now, Trump has unveiled a new limited edition US passport, featuring his face and signature, which will be issued to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence celebrations on 4 July.
“The U.S.A’s New Passport, which says, “‘, but be good!'” he posted on Truth Social, along with a mock-up of the design.
The announcement has not only prompted a backlash for being another vanity project, it has also drawn ridicule, with commentators saying Trump’s message suggested he was confusing a passport with a visa. Others observed that while it is policy that truly matters, the concept emulates the behaviour of dictators.
Putting aside the creepy dictatorial vibe, it's either hilarious or terrifying that Donald Trump clearly doesn't know who passports are for. pic.twitter.com/UYVA4jf35g
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) June 26, 2026‘Cult of personality’
The President has been sticking his name on a wide range of projects for decades, says Dr Mark Shanahan of University of Surrey, whose forthcoming book Trump Unbound, examines the former businessman’s attempts to consolidate his personal power in his second term.
“He has never been shy at this kind of lifetime memorialisation,” said Shanahan. “This idea of putting his name on everything that he touches is very much in his style, all the way back to his New York property days. It’s all part of the same, ‘see how powerful I am’.”
Trump is the first president to put his likeness on the US passport, but the document will only be issued in a very limited run of around 30,000 to in-person applicants at one office in Washington DC from 6 July.
Shanahan believes this “transactional branding style” is largely superficial and temporary, representing a commercial need to spread his name as widely as possible while he can. “Whoever is the next President, particularly if it’s a Democrat, will probably let people change to a normal American passport,” Shanahan added. “What is irreversible comes in his policy.”
Workers removed Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts earlier this month (Photo: AP/Rahmat Gul)Professor John Owens of the Centre for the Study of Democracy agrees that “pictures can be removed” more easily than other actions of Trump’s administration, but adds that the President is simultaneously working on longer-term influence campaigns.
“Trump also wishes to create more permanent reminders, while conveniently and dangerously ignoring constitutional niceties, including the separation and sharing of powers in the US system,” he said, referring to the 80-year-old’s campaign to remove powers from Congress and the courts.
Owens said that in putting himself on the passport, Trump “emulates authoritarian dictators past and present” by aiming to establish a “cult of personality”.
“By broadcasting his image, Trump is purposely blurring the important distinction between the state and an incumbent president,” Owens continued. “Like those authoritarian dictators, Trump seeks to personalise the federal government, portray unchecked dominance, enforce conformity, and insist on loyalty from ordinary Americans and federal government workers while implicitly or explicitly reminding them that they are being watched.”
Ridicule and fear
The passport announcement has also drawn mockery, with social media users calling it “confusing” and “beyond strange”. Shanahan pointed out that Trump’s welcome message implied a “misreading of what a passport is”.
“Maybe if this had been on a visa stamp for people coming into the country, it would have made more sense,” he said. “I think like many Trump ideas, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but probably hasn’t been fully thought through.”
Others took it as a veiled warning to people who have been granted US citizenship, in keeping with Trump’s hostility to immigrants.
has generated alarm, with critical race theorist Tim Wise decrying its “creepy dictatorial vibe” and others saying it underlined claims Trump behaves more like a king than a president. The announcement came as fresh “No Kings” protests took place in Florida this weekend, in defiance of Trump’s anniversary celebrations.
People participate in the “All of US” demonstration in Wilton Manors, Florida, yesterday (Photo: Giorgio VIERA / AFP via Getty Images)These have already included turning the South Lawn of the White House into an Ultimate Fighting Contest arena to coincide with his 80th birthday a few weeks ago and a campaign-style rally at Washington’s National Mall last week. He plans to hold another “Trump rally” there during the 250th anniversary celebrations next weekend.
Shanahan thinks the passport is just the latest proof in Trump’s desire to “reign like a King”, following on from his “autocratic” style of government, including firing civil servants wholesale as part of a Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) push and going to war in Iran without Congressional approval.
He said: “Whether it quite gets to dictatorial, we are still some way short of that. But he is pushing the boundaries as far as he can on what he can get through for his own benefit. We will see Trumpism long after the man himself has left the building.”
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