Ivanka Trump shares a black-and-white image of her son Theo peeking from the Resolute Desk, drawing comparisons to John F. Kennedy Jr.’s famous 1963 photo — but not everyone is impressed.
May-3, 2025: Former US President Donald Trump and his grandson Theo have stirred up a mix of nostalgia and controversy online after recreating a famed image of John F. Kennedy and his son from 1963. The photo, shared by Ivanka Trump, shows eight-year-old Theo peeking from the front panel of the iconic Resolute Desk in the Oval Office while Trump smiles from behind it wearing his signature “Make America Great Again” cap.
The recreated black-and-white image immediately evoked memories of the beloved photograph taken by Alan Stanley Tretick for Look magazine during JFK’s presidency, which showed young John F. Kennedy Jr. peeking out from the same desk.
Ivanka captioned the post with a series of family photos taken last month, but it was this particular shot that sparked a wave of responses.
While many users praised the photo as “historic” and “heartwarming,” drawing admiration for the multigenerational family moment, others criticized it as a “staged attempt” to emulate an authentic and spontaneous moment in presidential history.
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“Making America great again, one family at a time,” wrote a supporter, while another added, “I bet people in the future will talk way more about Trump than Kennedy.”
Critics, however, were quick to push back.
“This lacks the class and grace of the Kennedys,” wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user.
“You staged a photo to look like the Kennedy original—it’ll never have the same magic,” said another.
The Resolute Desk, a central fixture in the Oval Office, has been used by nearly every U.S. president since it was gifted by Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. The Kennedy-era photo remains one of the most iconic family images ever taken at the desk.
As Trump eyes a political comeback in the 2024 elections, the resurfacing of such symbolic visuals appears to be as much about legacy building as they are about familial pride.
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Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Theo Trump, Resolute Desk, John F Kennedy, JFK Jr, Oval Office photo, Trump family, viral photo, US politics, White House history, MAGA, presidential families, political legacy, internet reactions