In a March 23, 2025 post on Truth Social, Trump said the Colorado painting of him was “purposefully distorted” and argued that he would rather have no portrait displayed than keep that version.

The comparison that drew particular attention involved Obama. Trump praised the neighboring portrait of the former president, also painted by Sarah Boardman, saying Obama looked “wonderful” while sharply criticizing his own likeness.

That contrast was striking because both portraits came from the same artist. Boardman, a Colorado Springs painter, had previously produced Obama’s portrait for the Capitol before being commissioned to paint Trump.

The Trump portrait was not installed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, despite Trump’s criticism of the governor. The artwork had been commissioned through the Capitol’s process and funded by private Republican-led fundraising.

Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to finance the oil painting. The portrait was unveiled in August 2019 and joined the Capitol’s long-running display of presidential images.

Boardman said her goal was to create a neutral, historically appropriate image rather than a dramatic or partisan portrayal. She based the work on a reference photograph approved during the commissioning process.

After Trump’s complaint became public, Republican state Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen requested that the portrait be removed and eventually replaced with an image reflecting Trump’s current appearance.

The Colorado Legislature’s executive committee, which included both Democratic and Republican leaders, authorized the removal. By March 25, the painting was no longer hanging in the presidential portrait gallery.

Before it disappeared from the wall, the controversy drew extra visitors and news crews to the Capitol, with people stopping to photograph the portrait and compare it with images of Trump.

Boardman later rejected Trump’s allegation that she had deliberately distorted him. She said she had completed the portrait according to her contract and without political bias or an attempt at caricature.

She also said the work had received overwhelmingly positive feedback during the years it was displayed. According to Boardman, the public criticism following Trump’s post had also harmed her professional art business.

The episode revived interest in how official and ceremonial portraits shape public images of presidents. In Colorado, the paintings are intended to place each administration within a broader historical sequence.

Trump’s positive comment about Obama’s portrait therefore became one of the most widely discussed details. It showed that his objection was directed at his own depiction rather than Boardman’s entire body of work.

Months later, the empty space was filled with a new Trump portrait created by Arizona artist Vanessa Horabuena and donated by the White House for display in the Colorado State Capitol.

The replacement presented a noticeably different image, with a sharper and more severe expression. It was installed after approval from the Capitol Building Advisory Committee, which helps oversee artwork in the building.

Trump publicly thanked Horabuena and the people of Colorado after the new painting was installed in July 2025, signaling that the replacement had resolved his dispute over the earlier portrait.

The original Boardman painting, meanwhile, was placed in museum storage rather than destroyed. Its removal transformed what had been a relatively obscure Capitol artwork into a widely reported political and cultural story.

The controversy also highlighted a factual distinction often lost in the initial reaction: the Colorado governor did not control the portrait selection, and Polis had not commissioned the disputed painting.

Ultimately, the most unusual twist was Trump’s praise for Obama’s portrait while condemning his own. The episode moved from a social-media complaint to removal, storage, and a White House-backed replacement within months.