Latest news with #DanielTorok
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Trump ditches the American flag for his stern new portrait
The White House just unveiled a second version of President Trump's official portrait, and it's even more foreboding than the first. The new portrait, which was taken by the chief White House photographer Daniel Torok and revealed on Monday, shows Trump in a dark blue suit and red tie, sitting in a nearly dark room. It appears to be an evolution of Trump's first official portrait, also taken by Torok, which debuted just before his inauguration. Trump's first portrait strayed markedly from the precedent set by past administrations in terms of how the chief executive is presented. But this 2.0 version includes a striking omission that even the first did not: there's no American flag. It's just the most recent development in Trump's monthslong campaign to adopt a darker, sterner personal brand that aligns with his desired image of control. Leaving convention at the door Cara Finnegan is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois and author of the book, Photographic Presidents: Making History from Daguerreotype to Digital. According to Finnegan, presidents are 'always deeply invested in their political image.' In an interview with Fast Company back in January, Rhea L. Combs, director of curatorial affairs at Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, explained that presidential portraits have historically aimed to balance relatability with strong leadership and American pride. To signal relatability, every president in the last 60 years has been photographed with a wide smile, positioned at a straight-on angle to keep the subject eye-level with the viewer. The lighting is typically soft and even, giving the composition an approachable feel. And, to reinforce the concept of commitment to the country, each president since Gerald Ford has included the American flag in the background of their official portrait. During his first term in 2016, Trump hewed closely to this historical approach. In contrast, for his inaugural portrait this year, he bucked nearly every tradition—including lighting, framing, angle, and facial expression—resulting in an official image that aimed to convey dominance rather than relatability. Still, he kept a sliver of the American flag in the background. For portrait 2.0, though, that final vestige of convention has also been abandoned. 'The mug shot arguably is his presidential portrait' At the time of the first portrait's release, Torok took to his personal X account to confirm that his portrait of Trump was inspired by the President's mug shot, taken after he was found guilty of 34 felony counts in May 2024. Trump used the mug shot as a marketing tool throughout his campaign, repositioning it as a kind of badge of honor by selling pieces of the suit he wore in the photo and featuring it on rally posters. This 2.0 version blurs the line between mug shot and presidential portrait even more. Once again, Trump is pictured making his signature scolding, eyebrow-raised expression from his mug shot that Torok already emulated once before. Compared to the first portrait—which was significantly darker and more harshly lit than the average presidential portrait—version 2.0 has brought the dimmers down even further, obscuring almost half of Trump's face in shadow. And instead of an illuminated background featuring the American flag, this image features what is essentially an ominous black hole surrounding the President. On X, Torok responded to a commenter with a brief explanation of how he chose to capture the image: 'Fairly dark room. One massive overhead soft box. And a streak of sunlight from the sunset over his right shoulder. Cinematic lighting.' That last detail of emulating cinema seems to hint at the broader rationale behind Trump's sterner second term image, from an oil painting in the White House of his bloodied face to the commercialization of his mug shot: It's all about using production to craft a specific narrative. With portrait 2.0, the Trump administration seems to be saying Trump is the star, and the United States is merely the set. 'What's striking to me is that the release of each second-term official portrait has prompted comparisons to the 2023 mug shot,' says Finnegan. 'It's clearly become the image to which every subsequent photographic portrait of Trump is inevitably compared. Yes, Trump himself immediately embraced the mug shot and commercialized it, and now it even hangs outside the oval office, so he's authorized it himself in that way. But if every photographic portrait of Trump is compared to the mug shot, then the mug shot arguably IS his presidential portrait.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
It's President Trump Again, This Time in Full Frame
President Trump has a new official photographic portrait — his fourth since 2017, two produced during administrative transitions and two in the first months of his nonconsecutive terms. We have come a long way from the Lansdowne portrait of George Washington, in which the Virginian general stands at his desk with stiff republican reserve. The new official image, shot by the government photographer Daniel Torok, presents the incumbent in tight close-up and obscure quarters. Its lighting is immoderate, its tone forbidding, but compared to the last one its subject's mood has actually brightened. For that previous portrait, released at the time of the presidential transition in January 2025, Mr. Torok used egregious spotlighting from below that gave Mr. Trump the mien of a horror movie villain. The ex-president become president-elect glowered and squinted, in marked imitation of his mug shot taken at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. The new portrait, by contrast, displays a classically Trumpian tonal incongruity; for all the darkness, note the humor. The lighting is more head-on. Mr. Trump's shoulders are relaxed, his affect has softened. His neutral expression is moderated by a slight warmth in the eyes — a classic pose that a younger generation, following the supermodel Tyra Banks, knows to call 'smizing.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
New official presidential portrait of Donald Trump unveiled at White House
Donald Trump 's new official portrait was unveiled by the White House on Monday, 2 June. The close-up image replaces a photograph that was released for the 47th US president's inauguration earlier this year. An eight-second video released by the Trump administration showed the Republican, wearing a blue suit with an American flag pin, sporting a serious expression against a black background. It slightly differs from the earlier portrait, which showed a more brightly-lit Mr Trump in front of a US flag. The image was captured by chief White House photographer Daniel Torok, who also took Mr Trump's earlier portrait.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump's fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership
Nearly six months into his second term, President Donald Trump has a new portrait posted to the White House website. White House officials posted an eight-second video to social media on Monday, showing the new portrait being hung on the wall at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus. In his previous presidential portrait, which was unveiled just days before taking the oath of office for his second term, Trump could be seen wearing a blue suit coat, white button-up shirt and blue tie. The president showed no expression in the previous portrait, compared to an official portrait taken of him in 2017, in which he was smiling. Liz Peek: Donald Trump Is Our President And Democrats Have No Idea What To Do In the portrait unveiled on Monday, Trump is wearing a blue suit coat, white button-up shirt and a red tie. In both images, he has an American Flag pinned to his coat. Read On The Fox News App The president also shows little expression in the new portrait. White House officials told Fox News Digital the photo was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok. Trump Portrait He Claimed Was 'Purposefully Distorted' To Be Taken Down From Colorado Capitol As of Monday evening, the photo is hanging in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and it will eventually start rolling out to other offices and federal buildings. Trump's new portrait was unveiled just days after he announced that he was firing Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, for being a "strong supporter" of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He announced Sajet's termination in a post on Truth Social on Friday afternoon. Donald Trump Fires National Portrait Gallery Director For Being 'Strong Supporter' Of Dei "Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery," the president wrote. "She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" A White House official told Fox News Digital that Sajet had donated $3,982 to Democrats, including the presidential campaigns of former President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Sajet also reportedly donated to other Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris. The White House also pointed to the gallery's photo of Trump, which was curated by Sajet. The caption of the photo reads, "Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials. After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term."Original article source: Trump's fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership
Fox News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Trump's fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership
Nearly six months into his second term, President Donald Trump has a new portrait posted to the White House website. White House officials posted an eight-second video to social media on Monday, showing the new portrait being hung on the wall at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus. In his previous presidential portrait, which was unveiled just days before taking the oath of office for his second term, Trump could be seen wearing a blue suit coat, white button-up shirt and blue tie. The president showed no expression in the previous portrait, compared to an official portrait taken of him in 2017, in which he was smiling. In the portrait unveiled on Monday, Trump is wearing a blue suit coat, white button-up shirt and a red tie. In both images, he has an American Flag pinned to his coat. The president also shows little expression in the new portrait. White House officials told Fox News Digital the photo was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok. As of Monday evening, the photo is hanging in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and it will eventually start rolling out to other offices and federal buildings. Trump's new portrait was unveiled just days after he announced that he was firing Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery, for being a "strong supporter" of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He announced Sajet's termination in a post on Truth Social on Friday afternoon. "Upon the request and recommendation of many people, I am hereby terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery," the president wrote. "She is a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position. Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" A White House official told Fox News Digital that Sajet had donated $3,982 to Democrats, including the presidential campaigns of former President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. Sajet also reportedly donated to other Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris. The White House also pointed to the gallery's photo of Trump, which was curated by Sajet. The caption of the photo reads, "Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials. After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term."
