U.S. President Donald Trump has called for his portrait to be removed from the Colorado State Capitol, criticizing the intentional distortion of the artwork. On March 23, Trump, 78, published “Society of Truth”, expressed dissatisfaction with the paintings of artist Sarah Boardman, who hangs in the Denver Presidential Gallery. “No one likes bad images, but one from Colorado is indeed the worst,” Trump wrote.
Trump compared his portrait to Barack Obama portrayed by board members: “She must have lost her talent as she gets older.” He further claimed that many Coloradoans were “angry” at the artwork and called Polis “extremely weak to crime.”
The portrait, unveiled in 2019, was funded by the GoFundMe campaign initiated by former Colorado Senate President Kevin Grantham, after activists placed photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin in gallery. It took 32 hours and about 200 donors raised $10,000 for Trump’s official paintings.
Boardman is a British-born artist based in Colorado Springs and previously died in 2003 with the original artist Lawrence Williams.
Trump has not explained why he has attracted attention for portraits nearly six years after installing. Colorado officials have not responded to his speech.
