President Donald Trump is continuing his MAGA-centric remodeling of the White House, which includes an unexpected new piece of artwork. In addition to building two 88-foot-high flagpoles, engaging his “gold guy” to put gilded embellishments, and paving over the Rose Garden, the Trump administration rearranged White House artwork.
The official first lady painting of Hillary Clinton has been replaced on a prominent wall in the building’s East Wing by a portrait of Patricia Nixon, a former Republican first lady.
Then, between Nixon and another past first lady, Laura Bush, a new photo was inserted: a rendition of Trump’s face overlaid with the American flag. According to PEOPLE, Nixon’s image has been relocated from its previous location in the Vermeil Room, which is located on the opposite side of the East Colonnade.
Clinton’s portrait, meanwhile, is on loan to the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark., as part of their “Portraits From a Presidency” exhibition. The White House claims that it did not select to remove Clinton’s portrait from the White House and was only responsible for deciding how to replace it.
Eagle-eyed onlookers noticed that the unique new presidential picture was signed by “MAGA Angelo,” a Trump fan who made similar images of Melania Trump and Ronald Reagan that were presented at a recent Republican event. MAGA Angelo’s painting of Trump, which deviates significantly from the traditional White House aesthetic, is not the only new piece of art to be put since Trump took office for the second time in January.
In April, the White House replaced previous President Barack Obama’s official image in the Grand Foyer with a painting based on a photograph of Trump taken soon after his July 2024 assassination attempt. The new artwork depicts Trump raising his fist after a gunshot grazed his ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The replacement defied White House convention, which is to display the two most recent presidential portraits in the Grand Foyer, near the entrance to the executive mansion, so that state dignitaries and visitors can see them prominently.
Because Trump and Joe Biden’s portraits are not yet finished, the two most recent presidential portraits on display are those of Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush. Obama’s portrait is now on the opposite side of the Grand Foyer, while Bush’s is in a different location next to his father’s.
Trump did the same in his first term, replacing portraits of previous Presidents Bush and Clinton in the Grand Foyer with those of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
Also this term, a framed New York Post cover depicting Trump’s 2023 mug shot was discovered right outside the Oval Office, and the president also hung a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence near the Resolute Desk, replete with blue curtains on either side.