Trump's portrait to be removed from Colorado Capitol after he calls it 'distorted' and unfair representation

A portrait of former US President Donald Trump hanging at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump criticised it as “purposefully distorted,” state officials said on Monday.

House Democrats stated that the oil painting would be removed following a request from Republican leaders in the Legislature. They remarked, “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, painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term and unveiled in 2019, was commissioned by Colorado Republicans who raised over $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign. Boardman, who also painted the Capitol’s portrait of former President Barack Obama, previously expressed that her aim was to keep the depictions “apolitical.”


Trump expressed his displeasure in a Sunday night post on his Truth Social platform, saying he would prefer no portrait at all over the one displayed at the Capitol. Interestingly, he praised Obama’s portrait, stating, “he looks wonderful,” while suggesting that the artist “lost her talent as she got older.”

The Colorado Building Advisory Committee oversees the portraits at the state Capitol. Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Governor Jared Polis, responded humorously to the situation, stating that the governor was “surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork.”

Visitors had mixed reactions to the portrait. Aaron Howe from Wyoming, a Trump supporter, said, “Honestly he looks a little chubby, but better than I could do.” Meanwhile, 18-year-old Kaylee Williamson from Arkansas, also a Trump supporter, commented, “I think it looks like him. I guess he's smoother than all the other ones. I think it's fine.”

Boardman did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press, but she had previously mentioned to The Denver Post that it was important her portraits of both Obama and Trump appeared unbiased.

Inputs from AP