The new White House portraits of the first lady and the president tell a story of hard-nosed power and all-encompassing anger.

In 2025, Trump's presidential branding is a far cry from the smiling demeanour of his 2017 portrait. The shift to this serious portraiture style marks a turn in his audacious celebrity-esque brand to a more subdued and austere exterior – perhaps an omen for his future in power.

Régine Mahaux, who has been photographing the Trumps since 2008, told Vanity Fair that Melania’s new portrait “didn’t need to be retouched.”