
Secretary of State Marco Rubio rolled out America's next passport last week, and the internet was left scratching its head.
A before-and-after image of the redesign, posted Sunday by Adam Bhaloo of National Design Studio, racked up 4.7 million views. Users zeroed in on the "after" cover, which puts a small all-caps "PASSPORT" above an oversized "UNITED STATES of AMERICA" and a larger gold eagle.
"[W]hy does it look like Claude designed it?" asked X user Arnas Stasiulis.
"[O]h my god it has the claude all caps eyebrow," wrote Kayla Huang of the voting group platform Sway, referring to the small label sitting over the title, which designers call an eyebrow.
Rubio debuted the "Flight of the Eagle" design on Sept. 29 while launching America.gov, a new AI-powered site for government services. He also told the audience that first-time applicants could apply online "starting next year." Showing off the new cover, he drew laughs from the crowd.
"The words 'United States of America' are now exactly where they belong – first, right on top – and the Great Seal is larger, it's more prominent, it's more gold," Rubio said.
The new book is due in 2028. The standard book moves to 38 pages, replacing today's 26- and 50-page options. An eagle on every right-hand page shifts position so it appears to soar as the holder thumbs through, alongside scenes from the Revolution to space exploration. Passports will also arrive in a white and gold box.
Rubio pitched the interior as "a visual story of the greatest nation in the history of the world." The first of 16 page images he showed featured Trump, One Mile at a Time reported, in artwork much like his limited edition Patriot Passport.
The Bulwark previously reported that a commemorative edition would place the president's scowling portrait on the inside cover in front of the Declaration of Independence. When Trump previewed it with the slogan "Welcome, but be good!" critics piled on, and one analyst argued it misread who passports are for. Whether Trump will appear in the everyday 2028 book has not been explicitly confirmed.
Before and after of the new US passport https://t.co/TQuf5Zxh6j
— Adam Bhaloo (@adambhaloo) October 4, 2026





