Calling the portrait “truly the worst,” Trump blamed Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis and declared he’d rather have no portrait at all.
A painting of Donald Trump hanging among the other presidential portraits at the Colorado State Capitol is being taken down – much to the president’s delight – after he claimed it was “purposefully distorted,” according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
In a recent post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared a photo of the portrait, saying it’s “truly the worst” and blaming it on Colorado’s “Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis.”
“I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one,” Trump wrote in the post, and further said the governor “should be ashamed of himself!”. In two follow-up posts, the 78-year-old uploaded images of himself, likely aiming to present photos he felt were more flattering.
The Colorado GOP had raised over $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to commission the artwork, which was painted by British artist Sarah Boardman and revealed during Trump’s first term in 2019.
In interviews from the time of its unveiling with The Denver Post, Boardman said it was important that her depictions of both Obama and Trump looked apolitical.
“There will always be dissent, so pleasing one group will always inflame another. I consider a neutrally thoughtful, and non-confrontational, portrait allows everyone to reach their own conclusions in their own time,” Boardman told the Colorado Times Recorder in 2019.
After Trump’s online outburst, his portrait became an unlikely tourist attraction. Visitors flocked to the Capitol, snapping photos before the announcement that it would be taken down.
Aaron Howe, a visitor from Wyoming and a Trump supporter, stood in front of the painting, glancing down at photos of the former president on his phone, then back up at the portrait.
“Honestly he looks a little chubby,” Howe admitted. “But better than I could do.”
Video editor • Theo Farrant
