A claim (archived) circulated online in June 2026 that the Trump administration's limited-edition passports celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. would include the message "Welcome, but be good."
Claims circulated after U.S. President Donald Trump shared artwork purportedly from the new passports on the social media site Truth Social, writing, "The U.S.A.'s New Passport, which says, 'Welcome, but be good!' President DJT"
(@realDonaldTrump on Truth Social)
The artwork Trump posted showed the president leaning on his knuckles with a stern expression on his face and the text of the Declaration of Independence in the background. It also included Trump's signature, the text "United States of America 250" and a version of the artist John Trumbull's painting showing John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin presenting a draft of the Declaration of Independence to John Hancock.
Other social media users soon questioned whether the new passport would actually contain the president's message about good behavior and appeared to mock the idea. One X user wrote:
When you put a menacing picture of yourself on the U.S. passports and write "Welcome, but be good!" you're admitting that you don't understand what U.S. passports are and who gets them.
Similar claims about the alleged message in the new passports circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Snopes users contacted us, asking about the alleged message.
At the time of this writing, the U.S. State Department had not yet issued any commemorative 250th anniversary passports, so Snopes could not independently verify whether the documents contained the printed phrase "Welcome, but be good," as some social media users appeared to suggest. Therefore, we leave this claim unrated.
The images that Trump posted of the passport did not contain the phrase. Rather, the president could have been referring figuratively to the message the image of himself in the passport imparted through its stern expression. (It was not clear whether the artwork Trump shared showed the commemorative passports' actual design.)
We contacted the U.S. State Department, which will issue the 250th anniversary passport, to ask if the documents would contain the printed phrase "Welcome, but be good," and await a reply to our query.
We asked the White House Press Office who Trump's "be good" message was aimed at. A spokesperson referred us to Trump's Truth Social post about the passport, which did not answer our question.
According to the State Department's website, it would issue the "limited-edition commemorative passport" marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. starting on July 6, 2026.
People could only get the passport by booking and attending an in-person passport appointment at the Washington Passport Agency in Washington, D.C., on July 6, Aug. 22 or Sept. 26, 2026. Appointments would be released two weeks before the nominated dates, according to the State Department, and issuance would continue "while supplies last." We asked the State Department how many commemorative passports it would produce and await a reply.
U.S. citizens who were either born in the U.S. or naturalized after birth are eligible for a U.S. passport. Passport applicants must provide evidence of their citizenship, whether they gained it by birthright or later, when they apply.
Given the above, some social media users puzzled over the "Welcome, but be good" messaging in Trump's Truth Social post and portrait expression, which appeared out of place directed at U.S. citizens.
Snopes previously investigated rumors about other 250th anniversary celebrations including a proposed $250 bill and a UFC fight on the White House lawn.