President Trump is demanding Colorado take down its “purposefully distorted” painting of him hanging in the State Capitol.
“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 wrote in a post Sunday on Truth Social. “The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one [of] me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older.”
Trump said he would prefer not having a picture at all than having the current one on display. He said many Coloradans have called the state looking to get it changed or removed.
“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,” Trump said. “Jared should be ashamed of himself.”
Trump was referencing the members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, commonly called TdA, which had a presence in Aurora, Colo., last year. The president invoked the Alien Enemies Act recently to deport nearly 300 alleged members of the gang nationwide.
The group reportedly had taken over an apartment building in the city; video shared online showed a group of armed men at the apartment shortly before someone was shot, prompting Trump to visit the area during his campaign and familiarize the group in the U.S.
In 2018, an adviser to Colorado’s Democratic House Speaker Crisanta Duran snuck a political activist into the state Capitol who placed a large portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin into the spot where Trump’s portrait was meant to be. It came after Republicans reportedly were not able to raise the funds needed to paint the picture of Trump, 9News in Denver reported.
A spokesperson for Polis told The Hill, “Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork. The State Capitol was completed in 1901, and features Rose Onyx and White Yule Marble mined in Colorado, and includes portraits of former Presidents and former governors. We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.”
Updated March 24 at 7:31 a.m. EDT
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