Colorado state Capitol has caved into Donald Trump’s demand the presidential portrait to be removed, which was followed by bizarre comments from guests at the Denver building
A painting of Donald Trump will be taken down after the US President whinged was it “was purposefully distorted”.
The artwork, which hangs alongside portraits of other presidents at Colorado state Capitol, was unveiled in 2019 at the cost of $10,000 (£7,700), sourced through crowdfunding. Mr Trump, though, branded it “unflattering” in a furious tirade on his social media platform Truth Social, and demanded it to be taken down.
Within hours, House Democrats said in a statement the oil painting will be removed and will be replaced by one “which depicts his contemporary likeness.” The Democrats said: “If the GOP (Grand Old Party – the Republican Party) wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them.
Mr Trump’s comments prompted a steady stream of visitors to pose for photos with the painting before the announcement that it would be taken down. Aaron Howe, visiting the Colorado state Capitol in Denver from Wyoming, stood in front of Mr Trump’s portrait, looking down at photos of the president on his phone, then back up at the portrait.
Mr Howe, who voted for Mr Trump, said: “Honestly he looks a little chubby, but it’s better than I could do… I don’t know anything about the artist. It could be taken one way or the other.”
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However, Kaylee Williamson, an 18-year-old Trump supporter from Arkansas, got a photo with the portrait. She said: “I think it looks like him. I guess he’s smoother than all the other ones. I think it’s fine.”
While Mr Trump took umbrage at his painting, he praised that of former President Barack Obama – also by the same artist Sarah Boardman – saying “he looks wonderful.” However, referring to his own image, Mr Trump said online: “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the state Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.”
The portraits are not the purview of the Colorado governor’s office but the Colorado Building Advisory Committee. The ones up to and including President Jimmy Carter were donated as a collection. The others were donated by political parties or, more recently, paid for by outside fundraising, like in Mr Trump’s case.
The Legislature’s executive committee, made up of both Democratic and Republican leadership, signed a letter directing the removal of Trump’s portrait. Lundeen, the Republican senator who requested it, noted that Grover Cleveland, whose presidential terms were separated like Trump’s, had a portrait from his second term.
Ms Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. In interviews from the time with The Denver Post, Boardman said it was important that her depictions of both Mr Obama and Mr Trump looked apolitical.
“There will always be dissent, so pleasing one group will always inflame another. I consider a neutrally thoughtful, and nonconfrontational, portrait allows everyone to reach their own conclusions in their own time,” the gifted artist told the Colorado Times Recorder in 2019.