(Gray News) – A portrait of President Donald Trump will be removed from the Colorado State Capitol after the president expressed his distaste for the picture on social media.
The president complained in a social media post Sunday that the portrait by artist Sarah Boardman is “distorted.”
“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older,” Trump wrote.
Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. She previously told The Denver Post that it was important her depictions of both Obama and Trump looked “apolitical.”
The president also said he would “much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
House Democrats said in a statement to The Associated Press that the oil painting would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature.
“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 Democrats said.
Trump also accused Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, of “purposefully” distorting the painting and called on him to take it down.
Polis, however, was not behind the painting. It was commissioned in 2018 before Polis took office.
The painting was commissioned by Colorado Republicans. Kevin Grantham, a Republican who served as president of the Colorado Senate, raised more than $10,000 through GoFundMe for the painting, according to the Independent.
The portrait was unveiled in August 2019 during Trump’s first presidential term.
A spokesperson for Polis told KKTV in a statement:
“Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork. The State Capitol was completed in 1901, and features Rose Onyx and White Yule Marble mined in Colorado, and includes portraits of former Presidents and former governors. We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.”
According to KKTV, Senate Republicans in Colorado have reportedly requested a new portrait to replace the one the president wants removed, saying in a statement, “The removal of this portrait was made to honor pre-existing tradition: President Grover Cleveland only received one portrait that depicts him during his second term. In keeping with this precedent, I requested for the portrait of President Trump be taken down and replaced with a new one that depicts his contemporary likeness.”
KKTV and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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