Washington (United States) (AFP) โ An image of Donald Trump will soon appear in some US passports, officials said Tuesday, shattering another norm as the president aggressively puts his personal stamp on government institutions.
There are few precedents anywhere in the world, let alone in a democracy, of displaying sitting leaders' pictures in passports, and Trump would be the first sitting US president featured in Americans' travel documents.
The State Department said it would offer the limited-edition passport to mark this year's 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
The department -- which has historically viewed itself as outside US partisan politics -- posted on social media a sample of the passport, which features a stern-looking Trump superimposed over the Declaration of July 4, 1776.
Trump's signature -- in gold -- lies underneath.
A second limited-edition passport showed a historic painting of the US Founding Fathers.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US passports to commemorate this historic occasion," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Another department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Trump-themed passports would only be available at in-person appointments in Washington "for as long as there is availability."
The passports would come at no additional cost, the official said.
It was not immediately clear if passport applicants could refuse the Trump picture, although the majority of Americans seeking passports do so through local post offices, which would not provide the special edition.
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It's possible because 50 years of the class war being waged against the working and middle class has effectively gutted any chance for upward mobility and the blame is on the educated and education in general.
Stupid people can be easily manipulated to allow any lawnessless to flourish - esp. from those at the top - as long as they aim it at the "educated" and "elite" rich.
It's best expressed by what President Lyndon Johnson said: "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best black man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him someone to look down on and he'll open his pocket for you.."
..and that is EXACTLY what MAGA has done and they're too stupid and "poorly educated" to understand that the hardship they're going through now is of their own making.
But by God, they certainly stuck it to the "libs," didn't they?
Goes hand in hand with the people like Alex Jones and the others who now oppose Trump's agenda when they initially supported it and Trump's reaction was to call them stupid.. which they were, because years ago, he famously said "Smart people don't like me.." and that WAS the truth.
The thing about Trump is he's NEVER hid the kind of self-serving prick of a person he is. People always just laughed it off saying it was all a self-deprecating joke.. but it is not.
50 years of the rich gutting public education every step of the way and 35 years of corporate propaganda on cable TV has gotten us here.
This IS how empires rot. From within.