A black-and-white portrait of President-elect Donald Trump will appear on commemorative “sleeves” distributed at subway stations in and around the nation’s capital January 20, inauguration and transit officials said this week.
The design was unveiled Friday in an announcement issued jointly by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Committee roughly two weeks after it was first reported that Mr. Trump’s likeness would be absent from special-edition fare cards being issued in commemoration of his swearing-in, contrary to designs offered in 2009 and 2013 bearing President Obama’s image.
While the president-elect still won’t be appearing on any official inauguration-themed fare cards, Metro said it’ll hand out 50,000 free commemorative ticket covers on the morning of the event at select stations in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Each of the limited-run covers boasts a black-and-white portrait of Mr. Trump above the words “Make America Great Again” on one side, while an image of the White House resting against an American flag backdrop appears on the other.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee “worked closely” with transit officials to put together a sleeve honoring the 45th president, said Boris Epshteyn, the group’s communication director.
“Americans from every corner of this country will be coming to Washington, D.C. for inaugural events,” he added, noting that Metro has reduced the cost of a one-day Metro pass in expectation of what will without a doubt be a busy day in the nation’s capital on and off the rails.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump’s photo missing from Metro’s 2017 Inauguration Celebration SmarTrip cards
Transit officials last month said they resorted to leaving the president-elect’s picture off their inauguration-themed SmarTrip cards after the Trump campaign failed to reply to Metro’s request for permission to use the president-elect’s likeness.
“Metro requested permission to use a photo, but received no response from the campaign,” the transit agency said.
Mr. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond Saturday when asked for its reaction to the commemorative covers, Fox News reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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