Unearthed photograph of little boy left people shocked after discovering who he grew up to be

An unearthed photograph of a little boy has left people reeling after discovering who he ended up growing up to be.

The image in question shows a young boy - who looks no older than a toddler - sitting in front of a beige background wearing a black button-up T-shirt featuring yellow tartan accents on the front panels.

His hair is neatly parted to the right and he holds his hands together, looking straight into the camera with a neutral yet somewhat curious facial expression.

The image looks quite aged and was clearly not captured using modern camera equipment of a smartphone - a detail which sort of gives you a clue as to the era it was taken in.

A throwback photo of one of the world's most famous people has resurfaced (Sean Gladwell / Getty Images)

Now, the subject of the photo has bright blonde locks and equally bright blue eyes - features which are seemingly worlds apart from how he now looks all grown up.

After catching light of the throwback snap as it began to circulate on social media, it didn't take people long to realise who the little lad was - none other than United States President Donald Trump who, as we know, is now a 78-year-old man.

"That’s totally Donald Trump," penned one Facebook user.

A second chimed in: "Looks like a picture of Donald J. Trump!"

"President Trump, his daughter Ivanka looks like him," quipped a third, while a fourth chirped: "Yup that’s Trump!"

Another echoed: "Looks like Trump!"

US President Donald Trump as a tot (Instagram/@realdonaldtrump)

And a final Facebook user added: "Yes it's Trump."

While Trump is now considerably older than the little boy in the photo, whether he has grown much wiser too appears to be up for debate.

His highly publicised $175 billion (£130 billion) missile defence system, dubbed the 'Golden Dome', has already raised eyebrows around the world.

Now, as we know, Trump has launched a trade war against his country's neighbour and made threats to annex Canada as America’s 51st state.

Taking to his own social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday (27 May), the Republican posted unfounded claims that Canada 'very much wants to be part of' what he has called America's 'fabulous' new system.

Some hawk-eyed social media users locked the child was Trump right away (Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images)

Trump went on to declare that Canada would need to cough up billions of dollars in order to be part of the expensive missile defence system - but it could do so for free should it give up its sovereignty and become the US' '51st state'.

"I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State," Trump penned.

He added: "They are considering the offer!"

Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has previously insisted that his country is 'not for sale, ever' when asked about what he thinks of Trump's proposition.