Donald Trump keeps picking fights over portraits.
In March, the president made a public complaint about his portrait in the Colorado State Capitol, claiming that it was “purposely distorted ” and that Barack Obama’s portrait, by the same artist, was better done than his. Strangely, the picture had been up in the Colorado Gallery of Presidents since 2019, with Trump never commenting.
The portrait was taken down soon afterward, and the artist declared earlier this week that her career was in “peril” as a result.
“President Trump is entitled to comment freely, as we all are, but the additional allegations that I ‘purposefully distorted’ the portrait and that I ‘must have lost my talent as I got older’ are now directly and negatively impacting my business of over 41 years which now is in danger of not recovering,” Sarah Boardman said this week.
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There’s another Trump portrait controversy, this time closer to home.
I have independently confirmed that President Obama’s portrait has indeed been replaced by this portrait of President Trump in the aftermath of the assassination attempt against him. pic.twitter.com/gJQID1W95T
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 11, 2025
According to various reports, confirmed by journalist Yashar Ali, the portrait of Obama that was hanging in the White House has been replaced, in that spot, by a painting of Trump, raising his first following last year’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Per CNN, the switch was made in the Grand Foyer of the White House. “The Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer in place of a President George W. Bush portrait. The 43rd president was moved to join his father by a nearby staircase,” the report said.
The Butler picture is not Trump’s “official” White House portrait, which was introduced shortly after he returned to office.
That White House portrait and one of Michelle Obama were unveiled in 2022 during Joe Biden’s presidency. One fact check showed that Trump and Obama had mutually agreed that Obama’s portrait would not be officially unveiled while Trump was still president.
That is not to be confused with the Obama portrait in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
We’re excited to announce that the portraits of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama will be coming to the de Young on June 18th 🇺🇸 #ObamaPortraitsTour
(R) © 2018 Kehinde Wiley. (L) © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. pic.twitter.com/0npGd97k8M
— de Young Museum (@deyoungmuseum) February 9, 2022
Photo courtesy of X screenshot.
