The taxpayer-funded NPR published an article Wednesday explaining how passport applicants can avoid receiving a commemorative passport featuring President Donald Trump’s image.
The special passport, released to mark America’s 250th anniversary, became available Monday at the Washington Passport Agency. It can only be obtained in person and by appointment.
Among those seeking the new design was Alabama resident John Hall, who told NPR he drove to Washington in his “MAGA red” Hyundai hoping to get one because he is a supporter of Trump and wanted the commemorative passport. He was unable to secure an appointment before returning home and said he plans to come back for one of the agency’s upcoming passport events.
Not everyone shared that reaction. Kim Zaninovich of Richmond, Virginia, told NPR she was unhappy after receiving a passport featuring Trump’s image, saying she did not realize there was another option. She described the illustration as showing an “angry look” and said she would have preferred a standard version.
According to NPR, applicants who do not want the commemorative edition can avoid it by requesting a passport with extra pages. NPR added that the State Department said the anniversary design is only offered in the standard 28-page passport book, meaning the larger version does not include Trump’s image.
Despite NPR’s claim that the commemorative passport is only available in the standard 28-page book, the State Department says the anniversary passport is issued only in the standard 26-page passport book, while applicants who request the 50-page version receive the existing design instead.