US President Donald Trump lashed out at Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Sunday, accusing him of displaying a “purposefully distorted” and “truly worst” portrait of him in the state Capitol.
“Jared should be ashamed of himself,” Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, blaming the Democratic governor for the painting.
However, Governor Polis did not commission the portrait—it was funded and installed as part of a 2019 effort led by a Republican state senator.
Donald Trump criticizes painting, says it ‘must be removed’
“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.
He compared his portrait to that of former President Barack Obama, which he said looked “wonderful.”
“But the one on me is truly the worst. [The artist Sarah Boardman] must have lost her talent as she got older,” he wrote.
Trump claimed that many Colorado residents had reached out to him in anger over the portrait. “I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one,” he wrote. “I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on crime … to take it down.”
Colorado governor responds to Trump’s complaints
The Colorado Governor’s Office issued a statement to FOX31 in response to Trump’s post, saying he was “surprised” at president’s sudden interest in the Capitol’s artwork.
“Gov Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork,” the statement read.
Despite Trump’s claim that Polis was responsible for the painting, its funding and installation were actually spearheaded by a Republican state senator in 2019. The portrait was part of an effort to include all US presidents in the Capitol’s gallery, a process that typically takes years. For example, former President Obama’s portrait, despite being fully funded within his first year in office, took more than three years to be installed.
Mixed reactions to the portrait’s unveiling
While Donald Trump expressed his outrage, others had a different perspective when the painting was unveiled in 2019. Trump supporter Jerry Grotkier, who traveled from Colorado Springs for the ceremony, praised the painting at the time. “I think it does him great justice. I’ve seen unattractive portraits of him with a big, fat chin and whatever. He’s the Energizer Bunny that we’ve all been waiting for,” he told The Associated Press.