You read something like this …
THE STATE DEPARTMENT IS CLOSE TO FINALIZING a radical redesign of the U.S. passport to include a picture of President Donald Trump, The Bulwark has learned from two sources with knowledge of the redesign, including one who shared images currently under consideration.
The redesign is ostensibly part of a larger celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence. It comes as the Treasury Department prepares to produce coins featuring Trump’s image—both a controversial $1 coin in general circulation1 and an “as large as possible” commemorative gold coin—and as the National Park Service emblazons Trump’s face on its park passes. Both of those redesigns were justified as being part of the 250th anniversary celebration.
According to the images of the passport redesign provided to The Bulwark, the inside cover of the new State Department-issued document will feature a scowling Trump—taken from his second inaugural portrait—superimposed over the Declaration of Independence, as well as the president’s signature in gold. [The Bulwark]
… and I can’t help thinking it’s deeply reminiscent of Chad Bauman’s piece on then-candidate Trump’s behavior following the 2020 Election, which I’ve cited before:
The most virtuous and effective act in prosperity theology is positive confession, in which one claims and expresses gratitude to God for the health and wealth one expects to enjoy—even if it seems implausible one’s expectations will be realized. The most sinful act, accordingly, is sometimes called “negative confession”; that is, admitting failure, ill health, poverty, or disappointment. In prosperity theology, words matter; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Those who lay claim to victory actualize it, while those who admit defeat find themselves hopelessly entrenched in it. [Religion Dispatches]
It’s very much a magical incantation, and so I read the passport story – Trump is trying to catch the divinities’ attention so he can sit at the head table.
Or maybe I’m wrong. I’ll defer to Bauman concerning the plausibility of his assertions, while noting that religious mania and pathological narcissism can be hard to distinguish based simply on analysis of outstanding symptoms.
