Donald Trump moves official White House portrait of Barack

Donald Trump has allegedly ordered the official portraits of three former US presidents to be moved to less prominent positions in the White House.

Paintings depicting Barack Obama, George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, have been dispersed across the Washington abode at 79-year-old Trumpโ€™s directive, according to a report by CNN.

Obamaโ€™s portrait, unveiled in September 2022, was painted by Robert McCurdy and was originally hung in the White House entryway.

It has since been moved by building staff to the top of the houseโ€™s Grand Staircase, as per the outlet.

The new report claimed that the 44th POTUSโ€™ image is now firmly out of view for the thousands of visitors who tour the White House each year.

The area it now resides in is heavily restricted to members of the First Family, US Secret Agents, and a limited number of White House and executive residence staff.

Barack Obamaโ€™s official Presidential portrait was reportedly been moved in the White House (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A source told the publication that the 47th president ofย the United Statesย has also had both Bush portraits moved to the staircase area.

The painting ofย Republicanย President George W. Bush was unveiled in 2012 and was painted by John Howard Sanden.

His fatherโ€™s likeness was captured by Herbert E. Abrams, who officially revealed the portrait in 1995.

Social media users have blasted Trump for his supposed artwork rejig, with one X user branding him a โ€˜petty and insecure man.โ€™

โ€œJust when you think he couldnโ€™t disrespect more he goes and tops himself again,โ€ someone else claimed.

A third commented: โ€œNo worries Trump. The next president will remove every photo of you inside the White House.โ€

In his first term in office, Trump replaced portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in the Grand Foyer with William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

The images were moved to the Old Family Dining Room, described by CNN as a โ€˜small, rarely used room that is not seen by most visitorsโ€™.

McCurdy previously spoke about his painting of Obama, which sees the Democrat standing in the centre of a blank canvas, dressed in a black suit and grey tie.

โ€œThe subject ultimately for me was the idea of the gaze โ€” two people looking directly at each other with nothing else to load the narrative,โ€ he said in a video with the Obama Foundation.

โ€œThe painting is not telling the story of Barack Obama. Itโ€™s telling the story of the relationship between the viewer with this particular person. And thatโ€™s a two-way street.โ€

Tyla has contacted the White House for further comment.

Trumpโ€™s latest artwork switch-up comes just weeks after the Republican shared an AI-generated video of the Democrat being arrested and thrown in jail.

The viral clip, which was reportedly created using real footage of the two politicians meeting at the White House back in November 2016, was overlaid with The Village Peopleโ€™s โ€˜YMCAโ€™.

Amid the videoโ€™s blow-up, Trump accused Obama of treason, for allegedly ordering an assessment that Russia interfered to help Trump win the 2016 election.

Referring to documents published by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the father-of-five claimed: โ€œWhether itโ€™s right or wrong, itโ€™s time to go after people.โ€

A representative for Obama pushed back on the allegation, calling the attack โ€˜a weak attempt at distractionโ€™.

โ€œOut of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,โ€ said Patrick Rodenbush.

โ€œBut these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.โ€

Barack Obama served as the 44th president of the United States, and while he faced a lot of criticism at the time, one of his strangest controversies seems to have been forgotten about.

US politics often seems to trickle down to the rest of the world, and with Donald Trump now in office, weโ€™re all listening to the news to find out whatโ€™s happening and when.

But back when Obama was in charge between 2009 to 2017, a bizarre controversy could have been easily missed by anyone outside of the States.

We are all familiar with Trumpโ€™s mishaps after he took office in 2017, following his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton the previous year.

He then took on his second term this year after he beat Kamala Harris while Joe Biden was president.

This year has been a world of controversy for the current POTUS, such as his alleged affiliation with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, immigration policies, his partnership with Elon Musk and thatโ€™s just the tip of the iceberg.

Anyway, youโ€™ll probably have no idea just why Obama got so much flack back in his presidential days โ€“ particularly because it was over his fashion choices.

Back on 28 August, 2014, Obama held a live press conference where he discussed whether the US military would escalate its response to the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria.

He stood behind the podium and addressed the press wearing a tan suit, even though he was previously known to wear dark coloured suits โ€“ much like the presidents before his tenure.

Because of this choice of colour, critics slated Obama for being either โ€˜unprofessionalโ€™ and โ€˜too casualโ€™ for a president, with his suit making headlines and even being talked about on TV for days afterwards.

Amid all the talk, the White House said at the time: โ€œHe loves that suit.โ€

When an image of Obama wearing the suit was recently shared to Instagram, people had some choice words.

One user said: โ€œRemember when this was scandal, I would kill to have this be the only bad thing weโ€™d say about our president, we had it all and didnโ€™t know it.โ€

A second joked: โ€œThey couldnโ€™t handle his swag.โ€

Someone else added: โ€œWho cares what heโ€™s wearing? The clothes donโ€™t make the man, itโ€™s words & actions.โ€

A fourth raged on: โ€œRemember when this was the biggest concern in politics?โ€

And a final user bluntly penned: โ€œLike literally who cares itโ€™s a suit.โ€

In the years since, the former president has made references to the โ€˜scandalโ€™, saying in his final press conference in 2017: โ€œLet me start out by saying that I was sorely tempted to wear a tan suit today.

โ€œBut Michelle, whose fashion sense is a little better than mine, tells me thatโ€™s not appropriate in January.โ€

Now, tan suits are all the rage.


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