Trump portrait to be removed at Colorado Capitol after president's criticism
A portrait of President Trump that has been hanging in the Colorado Capitol for years is coming down after the president trashed the painting as "truly the worst" and suggested it was intentionally distorted to make him look bad.
House Democrats said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that the painting would be removed at the request of Republican lawmakers, adding “if the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them."
The portrait was unveiled nearly six years ago. Trump posted about his disdain for the portrait on Sunday and blamed Gov. Jared Polis (D), who was not in office at the time the artwork was commissioned and not involved in the 2019 unveiling a few months after he was sworn in.
“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol ... was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one."
Trump, 78, also suggested that artist Sarah Boardman, who is in her 70s, "must have lost her talent as she got older" because her portrait of former President Obama was more flattering.
Boardman hasn't responded to The Hill's requests for comment.
A Colorado Republican who played a key role in ensuring Trump's likeness would join the other presidential paintings at the state Capitol defended the artist, though he supports Trump's desire to have it removed.
“This is a person who is a good, qualified artist whose body of work will supersede this little hiccup long after we’re all gone,” Kevin Grantham (R), who was president of the state Senate when portrait was commissioned, told The Hill on Monday. “It won’t affect her good reputation.”
“She’s a good person, to boot," he added.
Grantham, who is now a Fremont County, Colo., commissioner, spearheaded an online fundraiser in 2018 for the portrait. It raised enough to cover the $10,000 price tag in about 30 hours after a nonprofit group was unable to secure donations for the portrait during a wave of backlash against Trump during his first term. Grantham also took part in the artwork's unveiling ceremony in August 2019.
"I think how things were characterized were unfortunate," he said of suggestions about Trump's likeness being intentionally distorted or the artist's age having an impact on the work. “I’m still really proud of the effort that we put in to get those funds raised."
Grantham said he can empathize with anyone who finds an image unflattering not wanting it displayed for posterity.
“The president’s no different,” said Grantham, who said he voted for Trump three times and remains a supporter. "I’m the last person to ask for an art critique — it’s not my world."
He said the point of the portrait gallery is to revere the office of the president.
“It’s not to honor any single individual," he said. "Leaving any of them out would be a disservice to the people of Colorado."
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