Official photos of Donald Trump and JD Vance released

Official portraits of US President-elect Donald Trump and his second-in-command JD Vance have been released ahead of his inauguration on Monday.

Both Trump and Vance are depicted in blue suits, white collared shirts, and blue ties, with Trump wearing a small American flag pin on his lapel.

Trump’s expression contrasts with Vance’s, with the president-elect’s head tilted slightly downwards, one eyebrow raised and his lips pressed together.

Vance takes a more relaxed pose, crossing his arms and smiling at the camera.

Trump’s new image is compared to his 2023 mugshot, taken in Fulton County Jail after he was charged with attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in the state of Georgia – Trump This allegation was denied.

The now famous image was used by Trump to raise money for his campaign.

The Trump–Vance transition said in a press release that the images “are hard to come by”.

The image Trump chose this time is markedly different from the one he used in 2017, when he first became president.

While he wears the same outfit, he smiles at the camera in the earlier picture.

“Trump is perhaps adopting a defiant image, turning a moment of legal adversity into a symbol of resilience and strength,” Quardikos Driskell, a professor of political science at George Washington University, told the BBC.

“It may also signal a change in his public persona, in contrast to his earlier, more traditional portrait, which emphasized a tougher, more combative stance as he prepares to take office for a second time.”

The images were released by the Trump transition team days before Trump and Vance were inaugurated on January 20.

Official portraits of Trump and his former Vice President Mike Pence were not released until nine months after they were both sworn in.