President Donald Trump thoroughly eviscerated a portrait hanging in the Colorado State Capitol, calling it “truly the worst” and demanding Governor Jared Polis remove it late Sunday night.
The portrait, which was actually completed in 2019 during Trump’s first term, was painted by Colorado Springs artist Sarah Boardman.
“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 President notes that Boardman also did a portrait of former President Barack Obama that looked markedly better.
“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst,” he added. “She must have lost her talent as she got older.”
Absolutely dying. both that Trump is so clearly bothered by this that he couldn’t resist posting about, and at how objectively bad the portrait is pic.twitter.com/SHNwWeBXKy
— Sam Stein (@samstein) March 24, 2025
Trump’s response is hilarious, but he has a point. How did something this terrible get hung on the wall of the State Capitol?
Upon completing the portrait, Boardman argued that she was simply trying to make her subject appear neutral and “non-confrontational.”
According to the Colorado Times Recorder, she described the photo used for the basis of the painting as “consistent” with other presidential portraits in the Capitol, showing Trump with a “serious, non-confrontational, thoughtful” expression.
She’s right. About the photo, anyway. Somehow, Boardman dulled Trump’s face down in her painting to a point where it looked like a thumb.
Side-by-side of the image chosen as the basis of Trump’s portrait in Colorado and the actual portrait. pic.twitter.com/6MYuiBJQiV
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) March 24, 2025
READ MORE: Trump’s Official Inauguration Portrait Is Here – Go Ahead and Grab Some Tissues, Libs
Woof. I’m no art critic. I wouldn’t even pretend to be one on television. But that is an objectively lousy translation.
It certainly doesn’t compare to Trump’s official presidential portrait from January or even the one from his first term. The President helpfully posted both on Truth Social to reveal the difference between a good image of him and a bad image.
His latest portrait is based and goes very, very hard.
Trump’s official portrait goes HARD. pic.twitter.com/XY7s3NxmVP
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) January 16, 2025
The President requested that Polis (D) take the portrait down and save everybody’s eyesight.
“I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one,” he wrote, adding, “Many people from Colorado have called and written to complain. In fact, they are actually angry about it!”
“Jared should be ashamed of himself!”
“Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork,” the governor’s office said in a statement to 9NEWS.
“We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.”
It was actually a Republican state senator who led fundraising efforts to get the painting up in 2019.
