Politics
NEW: Obama’s Presidential Portrait Replaced With Painting Of Trump At Butler Rally
A painting of the iconic scene in the immediate aftermath of the attempt on President Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania last summer has replaced former President Barack Obama’s official White House portrait in the building’s Grand Foyer.
The White House’s official social media pages shared a a video in which the painting, which shows Trump raising his fist in the air after he a bullet came inches away from killing him just a moment before, can be seen. It appears to be based on photographs taken by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and New York Times photographer Doug Mills, both of which became arguably the most widely seen photos of 2024 on a global scale.
The Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer in place of a President George W. Bush portrait. That portrait was also moved, this time to a nearby staircase, where it is displayed next to one of his father.
Several media outlets have reported that the new portrait was carried inside the West Wing early Tuesday morning, where it was unveiled without much fanfare.
Photo: The White House via X
“The dramatic image of Trump raising his right fist, with blood splattered across his face, became an emblem of strength in his presidential campaign,” CNN reported. “As of Friday morning, it hangs in one of the most prominent places in the East Wing of the White House.”
While White House tradition typically calls for portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent position in the executive mansion, where they are clearly visible to guests, Trump has opted for a different route. The move is similar to one that was made during the president’s first term in the White House, when portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were replaced in the Grand Foyer with portraits of Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley.
An official Trump portrait has not yet been revealed, though a White House official told CNN that the president wants the Butler, Pennsylvania painting to be featured in a prominent position. A portrait of former President Biden has also not been completed yet.
Former President’s Obama’s portrait is still displayed in a prominent position, the outlet reported. As of Friday, it is displayed just across from the Grand Foyer, where it had been up since 2022.
Privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association, the formal tradition of the presidential portrait came to be in the early 1960s under first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, according to former White House curator Betty Monkman. Prior to that, there had been a relatively “haphazard” policy, Monkman said during a podcast appearance in 2017.
