Colorado state capitol caves and removes Trump portrait after complaints from riled president
The Colorado state legislatures agreed on Monday to 'immediately' take down a painting of the mercurial president that he had blasted on Truth Social as "distorted" and "the worst."
State Democrats said the request came from their Republican colleagues, who apparently felt moved by the pleas of their leader.
"The [Democratic] speaker and majority leader are focused on keeping Coloradans safe and reducing costs, not hanging portraits. If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that's up to them," a spokesperson said.
Republicans haven't always been against the portrait Trump found so offensive. Painted in oils by Colorado artist Sarah Boardman during Trump's first term, it was funded through a Republican-run GoFundMe campaign, approved by the state GOP, and has hung in the capitol's Gallery of Presidents since 2019.
"Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado ... was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before," Trump said on his own social platform on Sunday.
"The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older,' he added.
"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!" Trump claimed.
He added that he was speaking on behalf of said constituents to Colorado's Democratic governor Jared Polis, who Trump claimed was "extremely weak on crime" and "should be ashamed of himself".
The portrait will reportedly be put into long-term storage once it's been removed.
According to The Denver Post, the portrait Trump hates was commissioned in 2018 after a citizens' effort to raise fund for a Trump portrait failed to raise any money,
Afterward, a Democratic aide helped a protest group sneak a portrait of Russian president Vladimir Putin into Trump's place on the wall, prompting former Republican state legislator Kevin Grantham to launch a new fundraising campaign.
On Monday, Grantham told the Denver Post that he was 'caught a little off guard' by Trump's reaction, but that it would be 'silly' and disrespectful not to take down a presidential portrait disliked by the subject it represents.
A spokesperson for Governor Polis said he was 'surprised to learn' that the President is 'an aficionado of our state capitol and its artwork,' and said he was 'always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.'
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