Donald Trump’s presidential administration announced on April 11 that the president moved a portrait of former President Barack Obama from the hallway in the White House. According to The New York Times, the official portrait of Obama was replaced with a pop art style painting of Trump immediately after his assassination attempt.
The painting depicts President Trump with a raised fist, emulating a photo taken in Butler, PA, during his campaign after he was fired at and reportedly struck in the ear in July 2024. In the painting, Trump is surrounded by the Secret Service and is backed by an American flag.
Although it’s not uncommon for the President to change art in the halls of the White House, several experts have called out Trump for hanging portraits of himself during his term as odd.
It’s more common for presidents and first ladies to receive a portrait in the White House after they have concluded their term in office, such as the case with Obama’s portrait.
The portrait of the first Black president of the United States was hung in the East Room of the white house by former President Joe Biden’s administration. The portrait depicts Obama in front of a white background and dressed in a dark suit and complementary tie.
Trump’s new artwork now hangs opposite of Obama’s, placed in the spot reserved for the newest presidential portrait.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended the move on behalf of Trump. She stated, “The executive mansion is the president’s home, and he has the right to make changes as other presidents have in the past.”
She continued, “President Trump decided to temporarily display this painting, which represents a pivotal moment in history when he nearly lost his life. Only The New York Times would find a problem with this.”
However, a presidential historian at the City University of New York and a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, Ted Widmer, said he was caught off guard by the new artwork.
Widmer explained, “It just seems tacky. It feels different from our tradition of venerating the distinguished holders of the office from both parties — and going in a new direction of walking around looking at images of yourself all day long.”
Princeton presidential historian Julian E. Zelizer added, “In the second term, it’s not just winning the White House. He’s always had intense animosity for President Obama, all the way back to the early 2010s. And I think this time around, he really wants to show that he has — in his mind — supplanted him.”
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