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President Donald Trump claims his portrait in the Colorado Capitol was "purposely distorted" and called for Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to take it down in a post shared on his Truth Social account.
"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. "The artist also did [former] President [Barack] Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older. 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! 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!"
The paintings of the presidents are featured in the third-floor rotunda of the Colorado state Capitol building and were created by Sarah Boardman, an artist from Colorado Springs, according to an article published in the Denver Post when Trump's portrait was hung in 2019. Boardman told the newspaper that she felt it was important that both Trump and Obama appeared apolitical in her paintings as the gallery was intended to tell the nation's complete history, not just a single president.
“In today’s environment it’s all very upfront, but in another five, 10, 15 years he will be another president on the wall,” Boardman said at the time. “And he needs to look neutral.”