Several weeks ago, the State Department rolled out a limited edition “Patriotic Passport,” as it’s called, featuring President Trump on it. This is intended to commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States, and it was only supposed to be available at the Washington Passport Agency, until quantities ran out.
Well, if you were dying to get one of these and couldn’t make it to the correct passport agency, there’s some great news…
250K Trump passports will be available nationwide
The State Department has announced that in response to “overwhelming demand,” an additional 250,000 special commemorative passports are being made available to the public. That means Americans across the country will now have the opportunity to apply for one of these unique passports.
The State Department claims that “since its release in celebration of 250 years of American independence, the commemorative passport has generated extraordinary public interest.” So the State Department is hosting application events at passport agencies and centers for “patriots all across our nation.” Appointments are required to apply for the “Patriot Passport,” and can be scheduled at travel.state.gov/passport250.
The passport features a portrait of Trump alongside the text of the Declaration of Independence, a Freedom 250 gold flag, and an image of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence.
At least applying for these passports is optional
It goes without saying that there’s no precedent for a sitting president putting their face on a passport, regardless of the circumstances. However, we don’t have to debate the merit of that.
I’m trying to be really balanced here, so let me just say that I at least appreciate that applying for this “Patriot Passport” is optional. At the Washington Passport Agency, people were being forced to apply for this passport, as there was no other option when applying there.
If someone wants to specifically make an appointment and apply for a “Patriot Passport,” hey, have at it. I am curious how many of these actually end up being requested. I imagine in the case of the Washington Passport Agency, it’s hard to assess just how much “overwhelming demand” was just due to people applying for passports because they needed them, vs. people specifically going to that passport agency because they wanted the Trump version.
There’s no denying that the special passport “generated extraordinary public interest,” though…
Bottom line
President Trump’s special “Patriotic Passport” will now be available nationwide, with an additional 250,000 expected to be produced. Initially these were only available at the Washington Passport Agency, while now they’re available nationwide by appointment. So if you’ve always wanted a passport with Trump’s face on it, you’re in luck!
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