Tech billionaires, corporate heads, and stars like Carrie Underwood are gathering in Washington to celebrate Donald J. Trump. His inaugural committee ran out of VIP tickets and perks because of the influx of big-money donors. But here is the president-elect, aggressively glaring in official photos released by his aides on Thursday ahead of the inauguration.
The image will be shown on Monday morning as his supporters clasp trembling hands, but it's not exactly a cry of celebration. Mr. Trump is bathed in eerie David Lynch-esque lighting from below, with powerful strobe lights shining in his eyes as he squints harshly. One entertainment photographer said the lighting and technique were reminiscent of photographer Jill Greenberg's controversial “End Times” series depicting crying children.
While other men on the eve of the presidency have offered nervous, smiling inaugural photos, the photo released Thursday is, like all things Trump, dramatic and full of smiles. It was amazing. It's certainly reminiscent of the intentional pose he took in the 2024 mug shot taken by the sheriff's office during the election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia.
When asked to interpret the president-elect's facial expressions in inauguration photos, presidential press secretary Caroline Leavitt replied: teeth. return. “
Sheila Craighead, who served as chief White House photographer during the first administration, said that as a subject, Trump “knows what he's looking for.” “He's very hands-on. He'll ask you to look at the pictures that are going on in real time, either on the back of the camera or on the computer screen, so that he can decide if it's going in the right direction.” If they like it, they'll ask to see it printed on paper rather than on a computer.”
Some saw in the image a sign of the retribution and strong action Trump promised during his campaign. Many of his supporters were overjoyed, seeing this as ushering in a new era in Washington. “Dad is home,” conservative activist and media figure Charlie Kirk wrote to X.
Others who have studied Mr. Trump over the years say he has been doing a version of this pose for a long time, and his intense facial expressions have evolved from his days on “The Apprentice” to his mug shot and then to his raised fist. He says that he did so. “If Donald Trump's old Clint Eastwood 'High Plains Drifter' squint was married to Georgia's mug shot photo, they would have produced this inauguration photo,” Pennsylvania said. An assassination attempt in Butler. Trump biographer Timothy O'Brien. “And the fact that Mr. Trump agreed to it means he liked it.”
Trump has previously told the photographer who took his portrait that he wanted to look like Churchill. (On the first day of Trump's first term as president, a bust of Winston Churchill was restored in the Oval Office.)
The new portrait was taken several weeks ago by Trump's chief photographer, Daniel Torok, and was created specifically for Monday's inauguration. Soon, another photo will be chosen as Trump's official presidential portrait. The images will be distributed to government agencies and U.S. embassies around the world.
These official portraits often provide a glimpse into both the president's personal personality and the mood of the nation.
Pete Souza, who served as chief White House photographer during President Barack Obama's administration, said the 44th president didn't want to smile too much in official portraits. “We were in the middle of a recession,” Souza said. “I think that probably influenced the way Obama was photographed in the first place, where he wasn't smiling broadly, but just a little bit.”
Trump did smile last time. His official portrait taken for his inauguration as the first president showed him shining beautifully. It was a hastily taken photo that had been delayed for many months. According to Craighead, who received it, he didn't really like it. “The photo you see today is probably the photo he wanted to take back then,” she said.
The grimace is “his favorite pose,” she added. “He'll say you don't want to laugh because you look weak.”
