US President Donald Trump has substituted a portrait of Barack Obama at the White House with a painting of himself depicting moments after he survived an assassination attempt.
The 78-year-old Republican on Friday relocated the picture of the Democrat — the only Black US president — to the opposite side of the main entrance hallway of the renowned residence.
This action is highly unconventional for a sitting president, as most are expected to wait until their departure from office before having their portrait displayed in the historic 200-year-old building.
“Some new artwork at the White House,” the White House stated on X, accompanying a video showing individuals walking past Trump’s new picture in the space by the primary stairwell where Obama’s had previously been hung.
The fresh painting captures the dramatic instant when a bloodied Trump raised his fist and exclaimed “fight” after being shot in the ear by a gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
A White House official mentioned they did not immediately possess information regarding the artist behind the painting. It bears a close resemblance to a photograph of the same moment taken by the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
Several White House officials subsequently posted images of Trump’s painting, also showing Obama’s portrait in proximity.
“The Obama portrait was just moved a few feet away,” commented White House Communications Director Steven Cheung on X — while instructing a critic of the move to “Pipe down, moron.”
It is customary for US presidents to rearrange portraits of their predecessors, often placing those of the most recent former officeholders in the main entrance hall.
Obama’s portrait was unveiled in 2022 by the then-president Joe Biden. It portrays the 44th president in a black suit and grey tie set against a plain white backdrop.
However, the White House’s publicity surrounding the switch reflects Trump’s enduring and bitter rivalry with Obama, who served from 2009 to 2017.
Trump initiated his political career by promoting the racist and false “birther” conspiracy theory, which falsely asserted that Obama was not a natural-born American citizen.
In response, Obama repeatedly mocked Trump — most notably during a roast at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in 2011.
The move also underscores how the former reality TV personality has consistently embraced self-aggrandizement in his various properties.
He recently hung, just outside the Oval Office, a gold-framed version of his mugshot from a case concerning alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election.
At his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, he possesses a large bronze sculpture depicting his defiant reaction to the Butler assassination attempt.
