A portrait of President Donald Trump that hung in the Colorado state Capitol has been replaced with one provided by the White House.
The new portrait is by artist Vanessa Horabuena and replaced one to which Trump objected, according to KKTV.
The Capitol Building Advisory Committee issued a statement about the change.
“At the request of the leadership of the General Assembly, the portrait of President Trump that is part of the third floor gallery collection of presidential portraits was removed in April 2025,” the statement said.
Donald Trump reacts to his portrait in Colorado’s state capitol:
“I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.” pic.twitter.com/hpzMdRhQoE
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 24, 2025
“The Capitol Building Advisory Committee has agreed to temporarily display this donated portrait and will consider the disposition of the full presidential portrait collection at a future meeting. The new portrait is installed in the third floor gallery of the Colorado Capitol.”
Trump gave the new portrait his stamp of approval.
Do you prefer the new portrait of Trump?
“Thank you to the Highly Talented Artist, Vanessa Horabuena, and the incredible people of Colorado — Now on display in the Colorado State Capitol!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump-approved portrait hangs in Colorado Capitol after ‘purposefully distorted’ version was removed https://t.co/lYnzhsUpMY pic.twitter.com/Hy3TaW3iLH
— New York Post (@nypost) July 2, 2025
Trump had shared his dislike for the portrait in March.
“Nobody 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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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 said the portrait had drawn complaints.
“In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain. In fact, they are actually angry about it!” Trump continued.
“I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on Crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don’t worry, we saved it!), to take it down. Jared should be ashamed of himself!”
Artist Sarah Boardman, whose work was disparaged by Trump, defended her portrait, according to the Guardian.
Boardman said the base image she used had been approved by the Capitol Building Advisory Committee.
“My portrait of President Trump has been called thoughtful, non-confrontational, not angry, not happy, not tweeting. In five, 10, 15, 20 years, he will be another president on the wall who is only historical background, and he needs to look neutral,” she said.
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