Trump’s face to appear on money, passports and cards — here’s all the places he’s branded as president

Presidents have been putting their names on things since George Washington's face ended up on a dollar bill he never asked for. The difference here is Trump seems to be enjoying the process a little too openly, and that's what's giving critics an opening. A $1 coin, a passport insert, a Bible with his signature on it, this is a lot of branding for one man in one term.

Here's the thing though: the 250th anniversary of the country is a real occasion, not a vanity project by itself. Somebody's face and name go on the commemorative material every time a big anniversary rolls around, and the sitting president usually gets a say in what that looks like. The question isn't whether Trump should be involved in marking America's birthday. It's whether the volume and self-focus of it crosses from "president who's proud to be here for this" into something closer to a merchandise line.

We'd have more patience for the eye-rolling if past presidents hadn't quietly done versions of the same thing without half the outrage. Obama's face is on stamps. Reagan's name is on an airport. The complaints about Trump read less like principled objections to self-promotion and more like discomfort that he does it loudly instead of politely.