Donald Trump swaps out official portrait in the White House to soften image amid criticism over menacing look
Why did Donald Trump swap out the original portrait?
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What made the original photo controversial?
Has Donald Trump reacted to portraits before?
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US President Donald Trump has quite a reputation for being very conscious of how he looks. He has apparently changed the official White House portrait quietly, just a few months into his term. The move seems as an attempt to present a softer, less austere image in reaction to public criticism of his first picture.During his presidency, Donald Trump has also made other notable changes. His tastes have affected presidential traditions and artistic presentations. He changed his official portrait, seemingly to make himself seem less intimidating.In a departure from presidential custom, the new photo, which is posted on the White House's social media accounts, softens Donald Trump's expression and presents him in a more favourable light than in his original portrait, as per a report by The Telegraph.Interestingly, he replaced his favourite red power tie with a turquoise one and changed the background, which shows the US flag in what looks to be a state room, to black.President Trump's first portrait, which was released just days before his January inauguration, showed him as stony-faced, with his lips pressed firmly together and his right eye squinting and narrowing.It was compared to the mugshot that Georgia authorities made public following his arrest in 2023 on charges of racketeering.The infamously image-obsessed Mr. Trump reportedly practised his pose for the mugshot that the Fulton County Sheriff's Office eventually made public, as quoted in a report by The Telegraph.In the aftermath of winning the presidential election last year, he put it on a wall in the Oval Office and declared it the "number-one selling mugshot" in history that "beat Elvis" and "beat Frank Sintara." However, it seems that he was less fond of his official portrait.The president has attempted to have an unfavourable portrait removed before. In March, Colorado took down the portrait of Mr. Trump that was hanging in the state capitol because the president didn't like how it looked and told Governor Jared Polis to "take it down."The British artist Sarah Boardman made that painting. When asked to describe it after being commissioned in 2018, Boardman said it showed the president with a "serious, thoughtful, non-confrontational" expression.He posted on his Truth Social platform that it's not nice to see a bad picture or painting of oneself, but the one in Colorado was intentionally distorted to a level that he has never seen before.The artist did President Obama, who looks great, but he asserted that his portrait was the worst. He stated that the artist likely lost her talent with age. Regardless, he prefers not having a picture to having this one.After receiving criticism for the original photo, he wanted a softer, less intense image.No, it's quite unusual but Donald Trump is known for defying convention and carefully managing his image.
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