
Why presidential portraits?
The tradition of presidential portraits in the United States started with George Washington. The first known portrait of him as president was created by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. Stuart’s portraits of Washington became iconic and established a standard for future presidential portraits. These official depictions of the presidents of the United States serve both as historical records and as symbols of the office and legacy of the presidents they depict.
But are they good for anything?
And these portraits are no joke. Presidential portraits serve multiple purposes. They reflect the artistic style and societal values of the time of their creation. Moreover, they act as historical records that capture a president’s likeness and personality. They are how the president will be represented in history.
What have presidential portraits looked like in the past?
Here are the official presidential portraits of the last few presidents. They have one thing in common – they are all smiling. Some have controlled, I-know-what-I’m-doing tight smiles, while others are quite toothy. But none look angry or mean… or insecure.
And yeah, we can’t help but notice that only Barack Obama’s portrait has no background—just plain and simple: the first Black president standing in front of a completely white background. What a metaphor…
Donald Trump 2025 official presidential portrait
Without further ado, here’s Donald Trump’s official presidential portrait for 2025. Oh sure, they could have just used his mugshot instead (picture on the right). But what we get is a caricature of the supervillain himself – an insecure, weak man’s idea of what a strong man should look like.
The only one we could find that looked even remotely like Trump’s was this one.
#StandGuard