White House moves Obama portrait to display painting of Trump after assassination attempt
The White House moved the official portrait of former President Barack Obama to a new location in the East Room, replacing it with a painting of President Donald Trump with his fist raised in the air right after last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The portrait appears to be based on a photo of then-candidate Trump, bloodied and surrounded by Secret Service agents, still onstage after being shot at the campaign event. That image, along with Trump’s words to “fight, fight, fight,” became a hallmark of Trump’s bid for a second term.
The White House unveiled the switch in a brief video posted on X Friday, accompanied with text that said, “Some new artwork at the White House.”
A spokesperson for Obama did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.
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The new Trump painting takes a spot traditionally reserved for the most recent official presidential portrait. Former President Joe Biden, who left office in January, does not yet have an official portrait.
Tradition dictates that the portraits hanging in this spot — next to the East Room in the foyer after walking into the White House — are of the most recent presidents, but that is not a hard and fast rule, a former White House official told NBC News. The president can direct the curator to move things around.
The former official noted that during his first term, Trump moved the portraits of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Trump does not have an official portrait from his first term, which typically would have been unveiled at some point during his successor’s term. At the time, the Biden administration referred questions about the matter to the White House Historical Association, which has facilitated the acquisition of portraits of presidents and first ladies since 1965.
Obama’s portrait was not the only one moved during the recent Trump redecoration. The 44th president’s portrait was moved to the spot George W. Bush’s occupied, and Bush’s portrait is now in the staircase, according to a White House official.
White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields posted a photo of the Obama portrait’s new location on Friday.
Some Republicans enthusiastically weighed in on the new decor. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, reposted a side-by-side photo comparing the spot adorned with Obama’s portrait and now with Trump’s. “Much better,” the Georgia Republican wrote.
The replacement is the latest development in an unexpected chain of portrait-related events. Trump demanded last month that a painting of him hanging in the Colorado State House be taken down — it was quickly removed — and in January, a portrait of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mark Milley abruptly disappeared from a dedicated wall in the Pentagon.
