A painting of an iconic scene by President Donald Trump surviving an attempted murder at Pennsylvania last year is now hung on the Great Foyer of the White House, after an official portrait of former President Barack Obama was removed from the scene.
The official account of the White House on social networks published an image of Trump’s painting – whose authenticity was confirmed separately by two authorities to CNN. Obama’s portrait was transferred to the Grand Foyer, in place of a portrait of President George W. Bush. The 43rd president was taken to join his father, George HW Bush, in a nearby place.
with splashed blood on his face, he became a symbol of strength in his presidential campaign. Since Friday morning (11), she has been hanging in one of the most prominent places of the East Wing of the White House.
The tradition of the White House requires the portraits of the latest American presidents to occupy the most prominent place, at the entrance of the executive mansion, visible to guests during official events. It has not yet been revealed, but an authority said the president wanted this, Pennsylvania, to serve as a highlight.
The change resembles a decision Trump made during his first term, when he replaced the portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on the Grand Foyer, choosing to highlight William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
The portrait of is still hanging in a prominent place, across the Grand Foyer, where it has been since 2022. A portrait of former President Joe Biden has not been completed.
A CNN contacted the White House Historical Association for comments. A spokesman for Obama refused to comment.
Privately funded by the White House Historical Association, a non-profit organization, the formal tradition of the presidential portrait emerged in the early 1960s, under the command of the first lady, according to the former White House Casa Betty Monkman. Before that, there was a relatively “disorganized” policy, Monkman said in a 2017 podcast to the association, with portraits being funded by Congress or commissioned by friends – or by the president himself.
Details about the origin of this portrait of Trump, his artist and who paid for him were not immediately clear, although it appears to be based on iconic photographs of his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, by the Associated Press Evan Vucci photographer and the New York Times Doug Mills photographer.
In the modern era of portraits of the White House, presidents and early ladies invited their predecessors, former employees, friends and family for inauguration ceremonies.
“It’s a statement of generosity from the current president and the first lady to invite all these people from a backward government,” Monkman said, recalling a ceremony during the Johnson government for the inauguration of Eleanor Roosevelt’s portrait.
The new painting was taken into the west wing on Tuesday morning (8) and was hung without much pomp and circumstance on Friday morning (11), according to a person familiar with the matter.
Official portraits of the president and the first lady for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery collection are currently in production, although the inauguration has not yet been announced. Both portraits will be financed with private resources, including a donation of US $ 650,000 (about 3.8 million reais) from Trump’s Save America Pac, and an additional private donation, which covers artistic fees, freight, framing, installation and events, according to the National Portrait Gallery spokesman, Concetta Duncan.
An impression of a 1989 photograph by Michael O’Brien from a smiling suit of suit, playing a red apple, is also in the National Portrait Gallery collection.
