President Donald Trump is not holding back when it comes to his portrait at the Colorado State Capitol.
Heโs now demanding that โradical leftโ Democratic Governor Jared Polis remove the artwork, which currently hangs alongside portraits of other U.S. presidents.
Trumpโs frustration was clear as he took to TruthSocial, saying, โNobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves.โ
โPurposefully distortedโ
Donald Trump knows how important it is to be portrayed in the โrightโ way โ he has alsoย saidย that heโs a โwonderful-looking manโ.
However, heโs not as pleased with one particular depiction, especially a portrait by Sarah Boardman that hangs in the Colorado State Capitol. The president is demanding that โRadical Leftโ Democratic Governor Jared Polis remove the painting, which hangs alongside portraits of other U.S. presidents.
He went on to say that the painting was โpurposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.โ
Trumpย took aim at the artist, Sarah Boardman, noting that she had previously painted former President Obama during his time in office, and had done a good job.
โHe looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst,โ Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social and added:
โShe must have lost her talent as she got older. In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.โ
Has been hanging there since 2019
Trump added that โmany people from Colorado have called and written to complainโ about the unflattering artwork.
โThey are actually angry about it! I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak onย Crime, in particular with respect toย Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Auroraย (Donโt worry, we saved it!), to take it down.ย Jared should be ashamed of himself,โ Trump said.
Whatโs a bit odd is that Trump is bringing up the portrait now, even though it has been hanging in the building since 2019, during his first term in the White House.
The artist behind the painting, Sarah Boardman, a British-born artist based in Colorado Springs, was also commissioned to paint former President George W. Bush in 2012. Boardman also painted the portrait of Barack Obama, following the death of Lawrence Williams, the artist who had painted all 43 previous presidential portraits, in 2003.
When the portrait was first unveiled in August 2019, Boardman shared images of her work on her professional Facebook page, calling it a โgreat day.โ
โMy portrait of President Trump has been called thoughtful, non-confrontational, not angry, not happy, not tweeting,โ Boardman said at the time. โIn five, 10, 15, 20 years, he will be another President on the wall who is only historical background, and he needs to look neutral.โ
She added, โPlease remain respectful โ this is about portraiture, not politics.โ
A spokesperson for Governor Polis responded, saying he was โsurprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork,โ in a statement toย Politico.
โThe State Capitol was completed in 1901, and features Rose Onyx and White Yule Marble mined in Colorado, and includes portraits of former Presidents and former governors,โ the spokesperson continued. โWe appreciate the President and everyoneโs interest in our Capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.โ
