The Trump White House has once again turned a small detail on social media into political theater. This week, the administration quietly altered the official White House LinkedIn page, replacing the traditional government seal with a portrait of President Donald Trump. What might appear a cosmetic tweak has set off an uproar among alumni of prior liberal administrations. Now their résumés bear Trump’s face.
The effect rippled across LinkedIn almost instantly, writes Axios. Former aides to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, George W. Bush, and other presidents opened their profiles only to find Trump’s headshot sitting beside their years of service at the White House. Even former President Obama’s page now misleadingly suggests his tenure unfolded under Trump. “It looks absurd,” one Democratic staffer said, “and it’s not a mistake—it’s trolling.”
Frustration has spread quickly through alumni networks. Former officials have circulated step-by-step guides urging colleagues to relabel their past employment from “The White House” to the “Executive Office of the President,” which still displays the official seal. Chris Lu, Obama’s former UN ambassador for Management and Reform, publicly recommended the switch to protect professional histories from partisan branding.
The White House is now posting on LinkedIn and made their profile picture a picture of Trump’s face, which means if you worked for the White House in the past, and it’s on your profile, people see Trump’s face.
I guess that’s what I get for using LinkedIn. pic.twitter.com/08c5HoMI0P
— Jeremy Edwards (@jeremymarrell) September 2, 2025
The Trump team has not denied the intent. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung confirmed on Twitter that the change was designed to provoke, boasting that the administration had seized yet another opportunity to irritate critics while energizing supporters. In the world of Trump’s political theater, even LinkedIn becomes a stage.
Observers note that the move is not merely symbolic. Communications strategist Adam Rosenberg argued that it shows a keen grasp of digital platforms: “This guarantees the White House page dominates LinkedIn’s search algorithms, while Trump’s image becomes synonymous with the institution.” In short, the controversy doubles as a branding coup.
LinkedIn has indicated the update does not violate platform rules, leaving former staffers little recourse beyond manually editing their résumés.
