The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump for her husband’s second term as president was unveiled Monday.
The black-and-white photo was taken in the White House residence on Jan. 21, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in.
The official photo was taken by famed Belgian photographer Régine Mahaux, and shared on X.
The image shows Melania Trump wearing a dark business suit and white shirt as she rests her hands on a reflective table in the Yellow Oval Room.
The Washington Monument is seen in the background.
Mahaux, a celebrated photographer of celebrities across the globe, has been snapping pictures of the Trump family for over two decades.
Mahaux also photographed Melania Trump for her official portrait in 2017.
"I was really honored to be chosen to shoot this official portrait for the second time," Mahaux told the BBC.
"As an artist to work with such an inspiring woman is a great privilege,” Mahaux said of working with the First Lady. “She is a perfectionist and is really involved in the creative process."
The first lady’s new photo has impressed fashion experts.
“The rhyming of her body with this well-known obelisk, a symbol of the power invested in the first presidency, is striking,” Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, faculty director for the Department of History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania, told the BBC.
“Her pose, with fingertips placed firmly on a remarkably reflective table, seems to communicate a readiness to ‘get down to business’ and act upon the platform afforded to the unique role of hostess and advocate for the disempowered that Americans have historically expected first ladies to inhabit.”
The portraits of the president and Vice President J.D. Vance were released earlier this month ahead of the inauguration, ABC News reported.
Melania Trump has been an obvious presence since Inauguration Day.
She wore a long navy coat and matching wide-brimmed hat from American designer Adam Lippes for the swearing-in ceremony.
Later in the day she wore a black-and-white gown designed by her longtime stylist Herve Pierre at the evening's inaugural balls.
She also joined the president on Friday when he surveyed hurricane damage in North Carolina and wildfire damage in California.
The president and first lady celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last week.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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