The Trump administration in the US has replaced former US President Barack Obama’s official portrait in a White House hallway with a bold pop-art painting of President Trump pumping his fist, moments after surviving last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania—a move that has sparked criticism from presidential historians and reignited questions about decorum and precedent, the New York Times reported.
While presidents routinely rotate art within the White House, the display of a self-portrait during a sitting president’s term—especially one portraying a dramatic and violent moment—is considered highly unusual. The painting, unveiled Friday in a post on the White House’s social media account, depicts Trump with streaks of red across his face, embraced by Secret Service agents, and an American flag billowing behind him in a blue sky. The imagery mirrors news photographs taken after Trump was shot in the ear while campaigning last July, an event that galvanized his supporters under the rallying cry: “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
White House defends the display
The portrait of Obama, based on photographs by artist Robert McCurdy and unveiled during President Biden’s term, has not been removed entirely but moved to a wall opposite the new Trump artwork, according to White House officials.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the decision, stating, “The executive mansion is the president’s home, and he has the right to make changes as other presidents have in the past.” She described the painting as commemorating “a pivotal moment in history when he nearly lost his life.” Leavitt also dismissed criticism, saying, “Only The New York Times would find a problem with this.”
Historians call it a break with tradition
Presidential scholars, however, expressed discomfort with both the subject and style of the painting. Ted Widmer, a historian at the City University of New York, called the artwork “tacky” and said it departed from the bipartisan tradition of honouring past presidents with restraint and respect. “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,” he said.
A personal rivalry re-emerges
Julian E. Zelizer of Princeton University noted that Trump’s decision also seemed personally motivated. “He’s always had intense animosity for President Obama,” Zelizer said. “And I think this time around, he really wants to show that he has — in his mind — supplanted him.”
Barbara A. Perry, a professor at the University of Virginia, found the painting’s style especially jarring. “Can you imagine Gerald Ford having a portrait painted of himself ducking?” she asked, referring to a 1975 assassination attempt on Ford. “This would be viewed as lacking in taste in days gone by.”
A shift in presidential decorum
A spokesperson for Barack Obama declined to comment on the change.
Though the Trump White House maintains the painting is temporary and represents personal expression, critics argue it reflects a broader pattern of the president reconfiguring institutional norms in highly personal terms — turning the walls of the presidency into a canvas for political messaging.
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