'Stupid' Trump mocked by conservatives for revealing his ignorance on US passport basics

President Donald Trump's unveiling of a redesigned U.S. passport — complete with a "welcome" message and an image of himself — drew ridicule this week, with critics arguing the greeting makes no sense on a document meant for Americans traveling abroad.

Trump had posted an image of what he called the new commemorative passport, marking the country's 250th anniversary, writing: "The U.S.A.'s New Passport, which says, 'Welcome, but be good!' President DJT." The design featured a photo of the president alongside patriotic imagery.

The anti-Trump conservative outlet The Bulwark seized on the "welcome" framing in a segment by host Tim Miller, who questioned whether the president grasped the basic purpose of the document.

In the video, Miller noted that Trump had updated the passport with the message "Welcome, but be good," then raised the obvious problem.

"This raises the question, does Donald Trump know what a passport is for? Welcome to who? The US passport is for Americans. We use it to go other places," Miller said.

He framed the confusion as cause for concern about the president's faculties, in a line The Bulwark highlighted: "It's pretty concerning that the President of the United States either is so stupid that he doesn't know what a passport is or that his mentals are declining at such a rate that he's forgotten."

Miller went on to mock the image of the president on the document, describing "a glowering president reminding Americans welcome in your own house, in your own country" — before working in a reference to Trump's legal history with the aside, "I've been indicted several times."

He closed with a note of resignation: "This is it, I guess. This is real life."

Conservative commentator and Bulwark contributor Bill Kristol also amplified the segment, calling Miller's take "very good" and adding his own variation on the critique.

"Trump clearly doesn't understand that a passport is for Americans, since the message he's delivering is suitable for a visa for foreigners," Kristol wrote.