CNN Compares New Trump Official Portrait to His Mugshot: ‘Feels Much More in Character’
A CNN panel reacted to President-elect Donald Trump’s newly-released official portrait for his second term by comparing it to his infamous mugshot — an image widely credited for helping rally his supporters to re-elect him this past November.
Anchor Dana Bash reported on the new photo during Thursday’s episode of Inside Politics, comparing it to the “very different” photograph Trump used in 2017, where he was shown broadly smiling.
Trump was “trying to send a message” with this new photo with a far more serious expression, said Bash, and this one “also kind of looks familiar.”
“Yeah, that’s right, that’s right,” replied New York Times White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs. “I mean, one, it looks familiar to a mug shot –”
“That’s what I mean,” said Bash. “That’s what I was setting you up for, effectively.”
Kanno-Youngs laughed and called it a “slam dunk” to make the comparison to Trump’s mugshot, pointing out that “during the campaign, that mugshot was key to Trump’s strategy,” as the campaign slapped it on merchandise “immediately” and used it to fundraise.
“In a way, that photo there is a visual representation of Trump’s strategy, which is stoking anger,” he continued. “And by the way, last time around, in 2017, too, Trump would often tell his aides he didn’t want to show weakness, didn’t want to smile in any photo as well.”
As the 2025 photo was shown again, Bash asked David Chalian for his reaction.
Compared to the 2017 photo, “this is choosing to be a picture of strength, defiance,” replied Chalian, before reminding Bash of Trump’s promise to supporters that he would be their “retribution.”
Trump was “not a big smiler,” Chalian added. “We don’t see him smile much a ton. This feels much more in character — the 2025 one than the 2017 one — of how he presented himself on the trail. This also seems much more like a president who’s coming in girding for a fight.”
The new photo “also seems much less authentic in the sense that the one on the left from 2017 looks like it was shot on iPhone, and the one on the right looks like, you know, perhaps there were some inputs entered into ChatGPT,” said CNN senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche. “And I only say that because when the Trump/Vance transition put out these portraits, there was no photo credit.”
“Oh that’s interesting,” said Bash. “Well, maybe it’s the guy at the courthouse, but it does have very good lighting.”
Watch the clip above via CNN.
