President Donald Trump faced fresh online scorn after social media users discovered that the new 2026 America the Beautiful pass displayed his portrait.
The design replaced the long-running nature photography that defined earlier versions of the card. Although the Department of the Interior revealed the revamped pass alongside new fee changes, the imagery dominated the public reaction.
Social media mocked the new imagery
TikToker Zac Bowling (@zacbowling) captured the mood in a viral video rant, saying, “This is basically a universal pass to all of our National Parks, and this year, this is what the pass looks like. It has Donald Trump‘s face on it.”
Bowling said the shift felt unnecessary and petty. He added, “Now I have the means, so I buy the card at full price. But what’s interesting is if you have certain conditions, in fact certain neurological conditions such as a little bit of a ’tism. Or maybe a little of 80 of those HDs, you can get this at a reduced rate where it’s almost free. Now, I used to not do that, but I almost feel like it if I’m gonna have to have his face on it. F*cking ego of this guy.” He also noted that Etsy sellers already started offering sticker covers.
@zacbowling The ego of this guy. The National Parks Pass America, the “America the beautiful pass”, has now been tarnished with Trump‘s face. Buy now in December and it’s good until Decemeber 20/6 and then buy in January in 2027 and skip his face entirely. Follow my main @Zac Bowling 🥑 for higher quality posts. #nationalpark #americathebeautiful #nationalparks #fdt ♬ original sound – Zac Bowling’s Other Account
“Nobody should get their face on a National Parks pass, but especially not people who are actively trying to destroy our public lands,” wrote photographer @frigidlight on Instagram, one such artist selling stickers to cover the new passes. He added that 100% of the proceeds from their sale would go to the National Parks Foundation.
Commenters echoed his frustration. One user wrote, “I’d pay more to NOT have that version,” while another asked, “Can I pay extra for a different picture?”
Another joked, “If not dictator, why dictator shaped??”
Several people also pointed out Trump’s past actions, including one who said, “Didn’t he cut funding to national parks? But has the audacity to plaster his face on it.”
Although earlier passes showcased scenes from Glacier National Park or Everglades National Park, this edition dropped that approach entirely.
“Remember when the national park pass had photos of actual national park scenes or wildlife on them? Good times,” remarked another.
Price hikes for international visitors and a new lawsuit
The Department of the Interior also announced major fee changes, and these shifts added to the online backlash. While the pass stayed at $80 for U.S. residents, the cost for non-U.S. residents jumped to $250 starting January 1, 2026. Bowling called the increase baseless, saying, “Except if you’re not a U.S. citizen, now it’s $250 for what?”
Furthermore, non-residents who skipped the higher-priced pass would face a $100 surcharge per person, instead of the standard per vehicle, at 11 of the most-visited parks.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued to stop the administration from replacing the contest-winning Glacier photo with Trump’s image. The group argued that the switch, “violated the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004 by refusing to use the contest-winning Glacier National Park photo on the main America the Beautiful Annual Pass, by substituting a photo of Trump that was not taken on federal land and was not entered in the public contest, and by creating new Resident and Nonresident passes expressly prohibited by the law.”
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