DENVER (AP) 鈥� A painting of Donald Trump hanging with other presidential portraits at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump claimed that his was 鈥減urposefully distorted,鈥� according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
House Democrats said in a statement that would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting, which was unveiled in 2019.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Republican, said that he requested for Trump's portrait to be taken down and replaced by one 鈥渢hat depicts his contemporary likeness."
鈥淚f the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that鈥檚 up to them,鈥� the Democrats said.
The portrait was installed alongside other paintings of U.S. presidents. Before the installation, a of Russian President Vladimir Putin near the spot intended for Trump.
Initially, people objected to artist Sarah Boardman's depiction of Trump as 鈥渘onconfrontational鈥� and 鈥渢houghtful" in the portrait, according to an interview with from the time.
But in a Sunday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would prefer no picture at all over the one that hangs in the Colorado Capitol. The Republican lauded a nearby portrait of former President Barack Obama 鈥� also by Boardman 鈥� saying 鈥渉e looks wonderful.鈥�
鈥淣obody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the state Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,鈥� Trump wrote.
The portraits are not the purview of the Colorado governor鈥檚 office but the Colorado Building Advisory Committee. The ones up to and including President Jimmy Carter were donated as a collection. The others were donated by political parties or, more recently, paid for by outside fundraising.
The Legislature's executive committee, made up of both Democratic and Republican leadership, signed a letter directing the removal of Trump's portrait. Lundeen, the Republican senator who requested it, noted that Grover Cleveland, whose presidential terms were separated like Trump's, had a portrait from his second term.
Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. In interviews from the time with , Boardman said it was important that her depictions of both Obama and Trump looked apolitical.
鈥淭here will always be dissent, so pleasing one group will always inflame another. I consider a neutrally thoughtful, and nonconfrontational, portrait allows everyone to reach their own conclusions in their own time,鈥� Boardman told the in 2019.
Trump's Sunday night comments had prompted a steady stream of visitors to pose for photos with the painting before the announcement that it would be taken down.
Aaron Howe, visiting from Wyoming on Monday, stood in front of Trump鈥檚 portrait, looking down at photos of the president on his phone, then back up at the portrait.
鈥淗onestly he looks a little chubby," said Howe of the portrait, but 鈥渂etter than I could do.鈥�
鈥淚 don't know anything about the artist,鈥� said Howe, who voted for Trump. 鈥淚t could be taken one way or the other.鈥�
Kaylee Williamson, an 18-year-old Trump supporter from Arkansas, got a photo with the portrait.
鈥淚 think it looks like him. I guess he's smoother than all the other ones,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it's fine.鈥�
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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press
