Donald Trump is catching the heat from citizens before his inauguration ceremony on January 20. The president-elect’s security has been a major topic of discussion due to the two assassination attempts on his life. The Secret Service is said to be taking no chances with the ceremony and has brought in some big guns.
According to reports, a private security company, Arcus Group LLC, has been hired to secure the perimeter of the White House for a considerable sum. According to TMZ, federal procurement docs show that the company secured an $8.1 million contract for the gig, of which taxpayers will pay the funds.
Arcus Group is an expert at setting up temporary security perimeters for high-profile situations like the inauguration. The move to employ outside expertise follows reports that Trump’s family is at heightened risk of assassination. Security expert Paul Hueb said of the situation to Radar Online:
“The threat level is high now because the country is so divided… Many people are angry with the election results, and there are those who want to hurt him.”
Unfortunately, the Secret Service is quite stretched thin. Matthew Noyes, the agency’s cyber policy and strategy director, confirmed the staff shortage. Despite requesting an additional 2,000 workers for fiscal year 2026, the agency still has only 8,000 employees.
“We do the best we can with the resources we have, but we’ve been constrained for over a decade now,” he said.
Donald Trump’s Inauguration Portrait Heavily Trolled by Citizens
Following the reports, Trump loyalist Nick Sortor unveiled his official inauguration portrait on social media. In the viral post on X, he uploaded a video detailing the inaugural ceremony brochure, which used a black-and-white photo of Trump. The eerie image bore a striking resemblance to the Republican’s infamous mugshot taken in August 2023. “President Trump’s new presidential portrait has been revealed. BADASS,” the caption read.
Compared to his first inauguration portrait where Donald Trump wore a bright smile, the president-elect had a mean look. His eyes were lopsided to give a hard stare and he barely broke a smile. As expected, fans gave their harsh, unfiltered opinions on social media.
“Pictures from a horror movie called the next 4 years of our life,” one fan mocked.
“Literally looks like he used the mugshot lol,” a second comment read.
“He looks like every dictator poster from literally every dystopia story. Guess it accurately depicts Trump in that case,” a third remark read.
“Really captured his dark soul. Love that for the history books,” one user penned while another added:
“He’s literally a villain and he’s not even trying to hide it omg.”
The source of Trump’s inaugural portrait remains unknown but it doesn’t seem like a great start for the next four years.
