A portrait of President Trump, hanging from the Colorado State Capitol, has collapsed for years after throwing the painting away as “really the worst” and suggesting that he was intentionally distorted to make him look bad.
House Democrats said in a statement Associated Press On Monday, when the painting was removed at the request of Republican lawmakers, he added, “If GOP wants to spend the time and money hanging in the Capitol, it's up to them.”
The portrait was published almost six years ago. Trump posted on Sunday about his daze on the portrait, denounced Gov. Jared Police (D).
“No one likes my own bad drawings or drawings, but the paintings at the State Capitol in Colorado were deliberately distorted to a level that I probably haven't seen,” Trump wrote in a post about True Society. “In any case, I would prefer not to have a photo than to have this.”
Trump, 78, also suggested that Sarah Boardman, an artist from the '70s, “must have lost his talent when he was older,” as the portrait of former President Obama was more flattering.
Boardman has not responded to Hill's request for comment.
The Colorado Republicans, who played a key role in ensuring that Trump's portraits would take part in other presidential paintings on the Capitol, defended the artist, but support the desire to remove Trump.
“This is someone who is a well-qualified artist for the job of imposing this little hiccup, much after we all left,” Kevin Grantham (R), the state Senate president when the portrait was commissioned, told Hill on Monday. “That doesn't affect her good reputation.”
“She's a good person, I'll start up,” he added.
Grantham, now in Fremont County, Colorado, led an online portrait fundraiser in 2018. After the nonprofit failed to secure a donation to the portrait amid a wave of backlash against Trump during its first term, it raised enough to cover the $10,000 price tag in about 30 hours. Grantham also participated in the artwork. Presentation ceremony August 2019.
“I think it was unfortunate how things were characterized,” he said of suggestions about whether Trump's portrait was intentionally distorted or that the artist's age influences his work. “I'm still proud of the efforts I've put in to raise these funds.”
Grantham said he can relate to people who find images that don't know what they don't want to be displayed for future generations.
“The president is no different,” Grantham said. “I am the last person who seeks criticism of art. It's not my world.”
He said the key to the portrait gallery is to respect the president's office.
“It's not about respecting one individual,” he said. “To rule out any of them would be harmful to the people of Colorado.”
