Why is Trump naked in his inauguration photo?

Tech billionaires, CEOs and stars like Carrie Underwood are flocking to Washington to celebrate Donald J. Trump. There was a rush of big donors and the VIP tickets and benefits for the inauguration committee were sold out. And here is the president-elect, clearly visible in the official photo released by his aides on Thursday before his inauguration.

The picture, which will be printed in a program controlled by its supporters on Monday morning, does not scream too much. Presented by Mr. Trump is dim, bathed in scary, David Lynchian lights from below, powerful strobes reflected in his eyes. One entertainment photographer said the lighting and technique reminded photographer Jill Greenberg of a group of crying babies.

While the other man at the top of the presidency offered an anodyne, smiling opening photo, the image released on Thursday was – like all things Trump – striking and striking. It’s certainly reminiscent of his deliberate pose in the 2024 mug shot, taken by the Fulton County, Georgia, sheriff’s office in that state’s election meddling case.

Asked to translate the president-elect’s comments in his inauguration photo, press secretary Karoline Leavitt replied, “America. Is. Come back.”

As a subject, Mr. Trump “knows what he wants,” said Shealah Craighead, the White House’s chief photographer during his first administration. “He’s good with his hands. He will ask to see the pictures behind the camera or on the computer screen if it is happening in real time so he can decide if it is going in the right direction. If he likes what he sees, he’ll ask to see a physical printout instead of a computer. “

Some saw in the image a sign of the retaliation and strong hand that Mr. Trump promised on the campaign trail. Many of his supporters were excited about the tone of what they believe will be a new era in Washington. “Dad’s coming home,” conservative activist and journalist Charlie Kirk wrote in X.

Others who have studied Mr. Trump over the years say he has been doing this pose for a long time, and that the aggressive look has evolved from his days on “The Apprentice” to mug shots and then the raised fist after that. the attempted murder in Butler, Pa. “If Donald Trump married Clint Eastwood’s ‘High Plains Drifter’ Georgia mug shot, they would have produced this. inauguration photo,” said Trump biographer Timothy O’Brien. “And for Trump to sign it means he wants it.”

In the past, Mr Trump has told photographers taking his picture that he wants to appear Churchillian. (On the first day of Mr. Trump’s term as president, he restored a portrait of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office.)

This new photo — taken a few weeks ago by Daniel Torok, Mr. Trump’s chief photographer — was made specifically for Monday’s inauguration. Soon, another image will be selected as the official portrait of President Trump; that image will be shared with government agencies and US embassies around the world.

These official portraits often give a glimpse of each president’s personality and the spirit of the nation.

Pete Souza, who was the chief photographer in the White House under Barack Obama, said that the 44th president did not want to smile too much in his official portrait. “We were in a recession,” said Mr. Souza. “I think it may have influenced the way we did the first photo where Obama didn’t have a full smile, just kind of a smile.”

Mr. Trump actually smiled at the end. His official portrait taken as the first president showed him radiant. Hastily edited photos taken after months of delay. According to Mrs. Craighead, who took it, she didn’t seem to like it all that much. “The picture you see today is probably the one he really wanted to get,” he said.

Thinking is his “favorite activity,” he added. “He doesn’t want to smile because he looks weak, maybe he’ll say.”