On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump’s chief photographer, Daniel Torok, took to the X to unveil a new portrait of Trump ahead of the inauguration. The portrait, which shows a stern-faced, artificially lit Trump staring into the camera, looks a lot like headshots of past presidents — and that’s the point.
Typically, each new administration chooses a headshot of the president to serve as the most-referenced likeness for a period of time. Since the presidency of Richard Nixon, these portraits have almost always followed the same formula: a right angle that captures the subject from the chest up; even, warm lighting; and a wide grin with teeth. Trump’s last presidential headshot in 2017 followed these signs. His latest portrait wins them all, proving that we live in a post-convention era.
Violating presidential norms
Rhea L. Combs is director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Combs says the National Portrait Gallery commissions an official portrait of each president at the end of their term to display after they leave office — adding that Trump has already sat for his portrait, which won’t be revealed until the end. in his second term. Overall, Combs says, both presidential artists and photographers aim to capture the president’s authority while also conveying his relevancy to the common man.
This precedent began very early with George Washington, who chose to be depicted in civilian clothes despite serving in the military. And as recently as 2018, an official painting of Barack Obama in the gallery shows the former president facing an audience in a clearly more casual suit, top unbuttoned and no tie.
“These are just a few examples of some of the ways that both the photographer and the artist try to convey a symbol of leadership and American pride while also making sure you connect them to a person. a man of the people,” says Combs.
This element of simple demeanor is also evident in the headshots of every recent president. An eye-level camera angle helps create the impression that the viewer is on the same plane as the subject, while neutral lighting and friendly expressions give most images an approachable atmosphere. When it comes to Trump’s recent headbutt, it’s pretty hard to find any of those familiar elements.
Although Trump chose to place the American flag in the background of the new photo, the president-elect seems to have given up on everything. The subtle low angle gives the impression that Trump is looking slightly down at the viewer – an effect only enhanced by the harsh lighting, which brightly illuminates the center of his face while casting other areas into dark shadow. His expression is intense—almost angry—and the image is cropped close to his face. It is meant to convey superiority, not relativity.
Mugshot mime
If the headshot looks all too familiar, there’s a reason.
“Okay, call me crazy, but doesn’t Trump’s official inauguration photo look a lot like his official trophy shot?” asked a user on X. Torok replied matter-of-factly, “Yes, Brian. That was the point. Thanks for sharing :)”
Indeed, the headshot is reminiscent of Trump’s mugshot of the president-elect wearing a navy suit and looking defiantly into the camera. Even after Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in May, he continued to use parts of the suit he was wearing in the photo as a political tool in his campaign, selling it and featuring it on rally posters. Torok compared his new photo to a mugshot in several tweets, including one captioned “The art of a comeback” and another reading “Fromshot to presidential portrait.”
Like everything Trump touches, this portrait is more than a photograph: it’s a marketing opportunity for his brand of defiance of social (and political) norms. This shows that in Trump’s sphere, his own agenda comes before the conventions.