The official portraits of Donald Trump and JD Vance were released — and social media is already teasing the president-elect for using his Georgia mugshot as “inspiration.”
The Trump-Vance transition team released the official portraits Thursday, along with the caption: “And They Go Hard” followed by a flame emoji. Trump’s official portrait captures a close-up photo of him scowling, eyebrows raised as his eyes stare down the barrel of the camera.
Many social media users are saying it closely resembles his mugshot in the Georgia election interference case taken in August 2023.
“100% Trump recreated his mugshot pose for his inauguration picture,” one X user wrote.
Another remarked: “Trump’s inauguration picture looks just like his mugshot! FOTUS…Felon of The United States!”
One user said: “You can’t tell me that Trump’s official portrait doesn’t take inspiration from his mugshot.”
“Trump liked his police mugshot so much, he’s using something similar for his official presidential portrait,” yet another quipped.
Perhaps the incoming president’s choice isn’t too surprising, given the fact that Trump has been selling merchandise — t-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers — emblazoned with his mugshot and the phrase: “Never Surrender!”
After the mugshot was taken, he claimed that it would appeal to Black voters: “I got indicted for nothing, for something that is nothing. They were doing it because it’s election interference and then I got indicted a second time, and a third time and a fourth time. And a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against.”
The one discernible difference between the mugshot and portrait, besides jail lighting, is the color of Trump’s tie. He wears a red tie in his mugshot and a blue tie in his official portrait.
Trump — and more than a dozen co-defendants — faced charges under Georgia’s RICO Act, as well as other charges, connected to an alleged scheme to subvert Georgia’s 2020 election results. He pleaded not guilty.
Meanwhile, Vance’s official portrait captured him boasting a soft smile, with his arms crossed over his blue suit and blue tie.
One X user criticized Vance’s outfit, saying his “tie knot is too big, sleeves are too short, jacket is ill-fitting overall.”
Another resurfaced an age-old question of whether the incoming vice president wears eyeliner: “Does JD Vance wear makeup in this portrait?”
Trump and Vance will be sworn in on January 20.
