CNN Analyzes Trump’s Bold 2025 Official Portrait as Symbol of Strength and Defiance
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CNN anchors, led by Dana Bash on Inside Politics, reacted with surprise on Thursday to President-elect Donald Trump’s newly unveiled 2025 official portrait, noting its stark contrast to his 2017 image. The discussion centered on the differences between the two photos and the message the new portrait appears to convey.
“I want to talk about that, but particularly as it compares to what it looked like in 2017,” Bash said. “Um, very different…it might seem like, okay, why are they focusing on a picture? Well, because he’s trying to send a message.
There was a smile that you don’t normally see in 2017. It was sort of like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what did I get myself into?’ And then the second one, the one that is going to be used now, is very different. And it also kind of looks familiar.”
Zolan Kanno-Youngs immediately identified the resemblance. “I mean, one, it looks familiar to a mug shot,” he said. “That’s what I mean!” Bash exclaimed. “That’s what I was setting you up for!”
Kanno-Youngs elaborated, pointing out how Trump’s mug shot, taken earlier in the campaign, became a powerful symbol of his strategy. “During the campaign, that mug shot was key to Trump’s strategy here. Immediately after the mug shot was taken, it was on merchandise.
He used it to fundraise, as well. In a way, that photo is a visual representation of Trump’s strategy, which is stoking anger.” Political analyst David Chalian described the new portrait as exuding “strength” and “defiance.”
He added, “When he said, ‘I am going to be your retribution,’ does that not look like somebody who is standing — he’s not a big smiler. We don’t see him smile much — a ton. This feels much more in character, the 2025 one than the 2017 one. This also seems much more like a president who’s coming in girding for a fight.”
White House correspondent Kayla Tausche suggested the portrait looked artificial. “It 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,” she said. Noting the absence of a photo credit, she speculated on the use of AI.
“Or, maybe it’s the guy at the courthouse. But it does have very good lighting,” Bash concluded. The striking shift in Trump’s official imagery underscores his evolving political persona, with the new portrait serving as both a symbol and a strategy for his forthcoming term.
