Political Tribune

Donald Trump, GOP, Opinion, Politics

Trump Unveils New White House Portrait — Critics Have A Lot To Say

The president posed in front of a new White House painting, in a tuxedo.

561
561 points

Donald Trump drew some mockery on Wednesday, upon the debut of the new plaques in the “Presidential Walk of Fame” in the White House, which offered critical assessments of Trump’s predecessors, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joseph Biden, along with a heroic description of himself.

Just a couple of days earlier, Trump was seen posing in front of another new White House decoration.

Back in April, CNN reported, a new painting depicting Trump after the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., debuted in the Grand Foyer of the White House. It took up the space formerly occupied by a portrait of George W. Bush, which was moved to a nearby staircase.

“Details on the origin of this Trump portrait, its artist, and who paid for it were not immediately clear, though it appears to be based on iconic photographs of Trump taken moments after the assassination attempt at his July 2024 Butler, Pennsylvania, rally by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and New York Times photographer Doug Mills,” CNN said at the time.

Later reports attributed the painting to Florida-based artist Marc Lipp. Andrew Pollack, a school safety advocate, donated the portrait to the White House, the New York Post reported.

Per the New York Times, at the time, the new painting “drew criticism from some presidential historians, who could not recall another president hanging a painting of himself during his term in the White House.” Ted Widmer, a presidential historian at the City University of New York, slammed the painting as “tacky.”

Last week, Trump was photographed, unsmiling, while wearing a tuxedo, in front of the portrait:

Trump had posted the photo to Truth Social on the 14th, and was almost certainly dressed up for the Kennedy Center Honors that night.

Some social media users reacted to the picture:

Photo courtesy of an X screenshot. 

, ,
Stephen Silver

Posted by

Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy.

Comments

log in

[nextend_social_login]

Captcha!
Forgot password?

reset password

Back to
log in