Trump gives his review of new portrait hanging in Colorado Capitol
'Thank you to the Highly Talented Artist, Vanessa Horabuena, and the incredible people of Colorado — Now on display in the Colorado State Capitol!' Trump posted on his Truth Social site, along with the image of the new portrait. The new rendering, donated by the White House, shows a bronzed Trump staring dead ahead, and bears a resemblance to the recent official Trump portraits the president has installed at the White House.
They bear a resemblance to his infamous mugshot, taken when he was processed in Georgia during one of his four criminal trials during the 2020 campaign. Trump also appears considerably slimmer than in the earlier portrait, which was the subject of a furious post. '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 raged. 'I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.'
He also called the earlier painting by Sarah Boardman 'truly the worst.' The state's Republican leadership quickly had the portrait taken down, the Daily Mail reported in March . But the drawing had been funded by a state Republican official, not the Democratic governor. In June the White House unveiled a new official photo portrait of Trump that showed heavy indications of photo-shop.
Horabuena's website describes her as a 'Christian Worship Artist' and features other large portraits of Trump. The artist defended it at the time as a neutral take that was not meant to be confrontational. Also hanging in the White House is a portrait of a bloodied Trump making a fist after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The new portrait by Tempe, Arizona , artist Horabuena is a sterner, crisper image than Sarah Boardman's painting of Trump that had hung since 2019. Last spring, Trump posted on social media that Boardman 'must have lost her talent as she got older' and 'purposely distorted' him, criticisms the Colorado Springs artist denied. The next day, lawmakers announced they would remove the portrait from a wall of past presidents. By the day after that, Boardman's painting was gone, put into museum storage.
The Horabuena portrait donated by the White House a month or so ago went up this week after a Thursday decision by Lois Court, a former state lawmaker who chairs the Capitol Building Advisory Committee that helps select artwork for the Capitol in downtown Denver. 'There was a blank on the wall. It seemed inappropriate. We knew that the White House had sent us this replacement and it simply made sense to put it up,' Court said. Pictured: Trump's portrait hangs in federal buildings around the country and in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The White House donated the Horabuena portrait a month or so ago, said Court. Horabuena is a 'Christian worship artist' who has done several other depictions of Trump as well as Abraham Lincoln, Mount Rushmore and Jesus Christ, according to her website. On Tuesday, the Colorado statehouse was sleepy with lawmakers out of session and no schoolchildren visiting the historic building.
A smattering of tourists took photos of the new portrait. Horabuena did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment. The portrait and others of past presidents might not remain up for long.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
First immigration detainees arrive at Florida center in the Everglades
The first group of immigrants has arrived at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' a spokesperson for Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier told The Associated Press. ' People are there,' Press Secretary Jae Williams said, though he didn't immediately provide further details on the number of detainees or when they arrived. 'Next stop: back to where they came from,' Uthmeier said on the X social media platform Wednesday. He's been credited as the architect behind the Everglades proposal. Requests for additional information from the office of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is building the site, had not been returned early Thursday afternoon. The facility, at an airport used for training, will have an initial capacity of about 3,000 detainees, DeSantis said. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet (8,500 meters) of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government's 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to a Trump administration official. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. The facility is expected to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July. Environmental groups and Native American tribes have protested against the center, contending it is a threat to the fragile Everglades system, would be cruel to detainees because of heat and mosquitoes, and is on land the tribes consider sacred. It's also located at a place prone to frequent heavy rains, which caused some flooding in the tents Tuesday during a visit by President Donald Trump to mark its opening. State officials say the complex can withstand a Category 2 hurricane, which packs winds of between 96 and 110 mph (154 and 177 kph), and that contractors worked overnight to shore up areas where flooding occurred. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent — and naming it after the notorious federal prison of Alcatraz, an island fortress known for its brutal conditions, is meant to send a message. It's another sign of how the Trump administration and its allies are relying on scare tactics to try to persuade people in the country illegally to leave voluntarily. State and federal officials have touted the plans on social media and conservative airwaves, sharing a meme of a compound ringed with barbed wire and 'guarded' by alligators wearing hats labeled 'ICE' for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facility's name. _____
NBC News
9 minutes ago
- NBC News
Los Angeles cancels some July Fourth events amid deportation fears
LOS ANGELES — Some Southern California communities are canceling or rescheduling July Fourth events as immigration arrests spread fear across the region. But organizations that oppose President Donald Trump's immigration policies plan to proceed with protests in downtown Los Angeles, where large demonstrations last month sometimes turned violent, prompting Trump to call in the state National Guard and U.S. Marines over the governor's objections. The city said it would postpone its annual Fourth of July block party 'in light of recent events affecting a portion of Downtown Los Angeles and the ongoing circumstances impacting the region.' The event is held each year in Gloria Molina Grand Park near City Hall and several federal buildings, including one now being used as a detention center that has been a focal point for demonstrations against raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During a 'No Kings' march on June 14, protesters fled from tear gas, pepper spray and less-lethal munitions fired by law enforcement officers, and large crowds were pushed away from federal buildings and into Grand Park, where demonstrators scrambled up a small hill to safety. More than 1,618 people in Los Angeles have been arrested by the federal government since it began clamping down on residents without citizenship last month, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The detentions have spread fear across Southern California, where some 1.4 million people are estimated to live without full legal authorization, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Several L.A.-based organizations said they will launch another round of protests Thursday near Grand Park, and a coalition of multifaith organizations, labor unions, activists and artists will hold a 'freedom' car cruise and rally outside City Hall. Later, activists with the group Centro CSO will hold a march outside the federal courthouse, calling for charges to be dropped against Alejandro Orellana, who was arrested in connection with distributing face shields to 'suspected rioters." He faces charges of conspiracy to commit civil disorder and aiding and abetting civil disorders. He was released on bond last month and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the local chapter of 50501, which organized the 'No Kings' rally, will hold an all-day demonstration outside City Hall to demand an 'end to the occupation' of Los Angeles by ICE, the National Guard and the Marines. 'This isn't a celebration,' the group said in a statement. 'It's a stand.' Smaller communities throughout Los Angeles County with large immigrant populations are also rethinking Fourth of July celebrations. In East Los Angeles, a historically Latino area, the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights and El Sereno have postponed July Fourth festivities after several high-profile immigration arrests. Federal agents last month rammed and trapped a car carrying four U.S. citizens, including a man, woman and two children, in Boyle Heights. The Department of Homeland Security said its target was Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho, who was arrested in connection with punching an immigration officer. A lawyer representing Cerno-Camacho's family said he is planning to file a lawsuit against the federal government. This week, Boyle Heights activists shut down a bridge that links downtown Los Angeles to the small enclave and marched with mariachis to the site of another recent arrest. Demands for the National Guard to return to normal duties were answered in part this week when 150 members were reassigned to wildfire season preparation. Some 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines remain at federal buildings in Los Angeles while a lawsuit filed by the state against the Trump administration is pending in court. A three-judge appeals court panel has said that the White House likely lawfully exercised its authority when Trump federalized the National Guard without Gov. Gavin Newsom's consent. The ruling halted a lower court's decision, which found the Trump administration had illegally activated the troops. Newsom said last month that he will pursue legal action to regain control of the guard. Lawmakers and legal organizations are waging their own court battles ahead of the holiday weekend. On Wednesday, immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, seeking to block an 'ongoing pattern and practice of flouting the Constitution and federal law' during immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'Since June 6th, marauding, masked goons have descended upon Los Angeles, terrorizing our brown communities and tearing up the Constitution in the process,' said Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. 'No matter their status or the color of their skin," he added, "everyone is guaranteed Constitutional rights to protect them from illegal stops. We will hold DHS accountable.' The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the claims are false. This week, county supervisors approved a motion to pursue legal action against the Trump administration. The vote came after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles over its sanctuary city policies, which prevent local police agencies from voluntarily cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. The U.S. government claims sanctuary city ordinances discriminate against federal law enforcement agencies by treating them differently from other policing authorities.
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trendy 00s lead singer forced to make shock u-turn after banning Trump supporters from his shows
The lead singer of rock band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus permanently banned Christian Donald Trump supporters from coming to his shows... but seems to have backtracked just days later. Ronnie Winter, 42, has been vocal about his stance on the president for years and last month pleaded with any fans who voted for Trump to not attend his gigs. In a video shared on his social media page on June 15, Ronnie declared: 'Hi, I'm Ronnie Winter. I sing for The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and I actually follow what Jesus says. 'If you're a Christian and you're watching this and you voted for Donald Trump, shame on you. You are not allowed to come to my shows. I don't want you there. 'Don't come to my shows. It's awesome that you love Face Down, but it's not for you. It's not your song.' He continued: 'If you voted for Donald Trump, do not come to my shows ever. Don't come to my shows because you're going to hear a lot of woke propaganda and you're gonna hear the actual words of Jesus, you're gonna hear a lot of acceptance from all areas of life and races, and you're gonna see a lot of harmony. 'That's not what you're about, 'kay, don't come. Refunds available. 'Forever don't come.' However, two days later, on June 17, a separate post appeared to U-turn on his initial position. 'God's invitation of love into its heavenly kingdom is open to everyone,' a caption read. 'Let's stop trying to manipulate the Heavenly father's invitation. For a second didn't it feel weird to not be invited to our events? Let it sink in guys. 'Obviously, everyone is invited to our events, but leave the dividing topics out.' In the weeks that have followed, Ronnie has revealed he has had to reschedule tour dates due to an onslaught of abuse and death threats from Trump supporters. Speaking out about the response in a TikTok posted on July 1, he said: 'The extreme left think I'm not woke enough, and the extreme right think I'm too woke, that's where we're at.' Fans of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are seemingly split over Ronnie's comments, with some praising them for being outspoken. Others, however, criticized the singer for sharing his politics. Taking to the comments on TikTok, one argued: 'You're a musician. Keep politics to yourself. You said Trump supporters shouldn't listen to your music. Ok cool. I'll stop listening to your two hits.' 'It's unfortunate that you couldn't separate your personal life with your musical career,' another posted. 'I loved your music. It helped me get through some through times. So being told I'm not welcome to be a fan anymore because I voted for someone that I believed it is hateful and hurtful.' Others said: 'Even more support from this fan now!' On asked: 'Ronnie I just want to know, am I still welcome to see y'all in September? Yes I voted for Trump, yes there's things I don't agree with that he's done and things I do agree with. 'I'm not the type to show my political opinions or beliefs. But I'm just curious if I'm still allowed to attend. Btw, I grew up with Green Day and still listen to them daily.' Responding to the comment, Ronnie said: 'You can [say] sorry for making a mistake. Then you may come.' The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is a rock band formed in Middleburg, Florida, in 2003. Ronnie is a current member alongside Joey Westwood, Josh Burke, Randy Winter, John Espy, and Nadeem Salam. Their hits include Face Down and False Pretense, both released on their 2006 album Don't You Fake It.
