‘Patriot Passport’ sparks leftist outrage — but they’re missing the point

Leave it to Donald Trump to turn a passport into a national debate.

To commemorate America’s 250th birthday, the Trump administration unveiled a special-edition “Patriot Passport” featuring historical artwork, tributes to the nation’s founding, and a portrait of the president.

While the left has immediately seized on the fact that Trump appears inside the passport, Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck doesn’t see it as controversial — and counts himself “fortunate” as he was one of the first to receive the new passport.

“I guess it’s controversial because it’s for the 250th anniversary and it has Donald Trump on the very front, not the front front, but on the first page. And I don’t find that controversial. He’s the president of the United States on the 250th anniversary,” Glenn says.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott tells Glenn that the passports will only be made this year and simply follows a tradition of commemorative passports.

“There was one for the 200th anniversary as well,” he says.

“This initially started as a passport that was only going to be available in person at the Washington, D.C., passport office. But what we saw through phone calls, emails, we had a booth at the state fair for example, with tens of thousands of Americans stopping by,” he explains.

“There was a huge amount of demand of people wanting to get this passport. So that’s why based off the demand that we’ve seen, based off the fact that people were saying, ‘We’ll fly back to Washington, D.C., to get this passport if we can get an appointment,’ we’ve decided to expand this opportunity across the country,” he adds.

Because of this, the Trump administration is reportedly making an additional 250,000 passports.

And despite the critiques, the passport doesn’t just feature Trump’s mug. It also tells stories of American history.

“There are different images on each one of the pages that mark certain events in history. Of course, the founding … our founders signing our founding documents,” Pigott tells Glenn.

“It’s also part of a broader effort here to mark the 250,” he says, explaining that one of the things the State Department is attempting to accomplish is create a “new series” where Americans are taken through “the history of diplomacy.”

“I think one of the untold stories that so many Americans aren’t told is all of the great things that our country has accomplished through diplomacy and other means,” he continues.

“And what we’re doing through this passport, telling the story, but also through other initiatives worldwide actually, is tell the story of American diplomacy in a way that is has not been told,” he adds.

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