President Donald Trump bashed a nearly six-year-old portrait of himself that is hanging in Colorado’s State Capitol building.
Trump posted the criticism on his Truth Social account on Sunday evening, calling the artwork “purposefully distorted.” He called on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to remove it.
“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 said. “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.”
The painting has been hanging on the wall of Colorado’s State Capitol building since August 2019, according to reports. The portrait was the culmination of initiatives led and approved by Colorado Republicans during Trump’s first term. State Sen. Kevin Grantham organized fundraising efforts to commission the painting and place it in the building. He raised $10,000 from a GoFundMe campaign, reported KUSA-TV, an NBC affiliate in Denver, Colorado.
Trump claimed that people from the state have complained about the painting and that Polis should remove it. The president also called Colorado’s governor “weak on crime” and referenced incidents in Aurora, Colorado, in which the Tren de Aragua gang “took over” apartment complexes in the city.
“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,” Trump said. “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!”
