The official portraits of US President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have been released ahead of their inauguration on Monday.
Both Trump and Vance are shown wearing blue suits, white collared shirts and blue ties, with Trump wearing a small American flag pin on his lapel.
Trump’s facial expression contrasts with Vance’s, with the president-elect’s head tilted slightly downward, one eyebrow raised and lips pursed.
Vance smiles at the camera, arms crossed, in a more relaxed pose.
The new image of Trump has drawn comparisons to a photo of him from 2023, which was taken in the Fulton County Jail after he was accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the state of Georgia – a charge Trump has denied.
The now famous image was used by Trump to raise funds for his campaign.
The Trump-Vance transition said in a press release that the portraits are “going hard.”
The portrait that Trump chose this time is significantly different from the image used in 2017, when he first became president.
Although she is wearing similar clothes, she is smiling broadly at the camera in the previous portrait.
“Trump may be embracing a defiant image, turning a moment of legal trouble into a symbol of resilience and strength,” Quardricos Driskell, a political science professor at George Washington University, told the BBC.
“The stark contrast to his earlier, more traditional portrait could also mark a shift in his public persona, highlighting a tougher, more combative stance as he prepares to take office for a second term.”
The portraits were released by Trump’s transition team just days before Trump and Vance’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
The official portraits of Trump and his former vice president, Mike Pence, were not released until nine months after both were sworn in.
