Trump's Colorado Capitol portrait will be removed after president's outcry
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Screenshot: Truth Social post
A portrait of President Trump at the Colorado State Capitol will be removed Monday — just one day after he publicly criticized the work.
The big picture: Colorado House Democrats issued a statement Monday saying the painting, on display since 2019, will come down at the request of Republican leaders.
- "If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that's up to them," the statement reads.
The latest: Russian leader Vladimir Putin sent Trump a "personal gift" during a meeting with administration special envoy Steve Witkoff last week, the Kremlin said Monday after it emerged he gave him a portrait.
- Witkoff had earlier described the painting from Putin of the president by a "leading Russian artist" as "beautiful" during an interview with Tucker Carlson.
Catch up quick: Trump on Sunday criticized the Colorado State Capitol portrait of himself, demanding that Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, take it down.
State of play: Trump claimed the oil painting was "purposefully distorted" in a post on Truth Social, and criticized the artist, saying "she must have lost her talent as she got older."
- The painter, Sarah Boardman of Colorado Springs, also crafted a portrait of former President Obama, which hangs beside Trump's in a collection of U.S. presidents at the state Capitol.
Context: A former Republican state lawmaker raised almost $11,000 in 2018 to help pay for the portrait due to a lack of donations for the commissioned work, per the Denver Post.
- Boardman told the Denver Post she wanted her work to be "apolitical" when it was first unveiled.
What they're saying: "The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst," Trump wrote over the weekend.
The other side: "Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork," the governor's spokesperson Shelby Wieman said in a statement to Axios Denver.
- Wieman said the governor's office always looks "for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience."
What's next: The portrait will be collected by legislative staff with the help of History Colorado Center, a local museum, which has been asked to store it, per an email from legislative staff.
Go deeper... "Personal gift": Putin sent Trump a portrait
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.