President Donald Trump has moved the official portraits of former President Barack Obama , former President George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush to a hidden stairwell in the White House.
Trump directed staff to move Obama’s portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, CNN reports, where it will be out of view from thousands of visitors who tour the White House. The portraits of both Bushes are also in the staircase area, according to the news outlet.
The new location of the Obama portrait is at the landing of the entrance to the private residence, which is heavily restricted to members of the first family, US Secret Service agents, and a limited number of White House and executive residence staff.
This is not the first time the painting of the former president has been relocated. In April, the Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced with a painting of Trump surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Typically, it is White House protocol and precedent for portraits of the most recent presidents to have the most prominent placement in the White House that is visible to guests during official events and visitors on tours.
Former President Joe Biden’s portrait has not yet been completed.
Sources maintain that the president is directly involved in nearly everything that is done to the aesthetic of the White House.
This move comes as tensions between Trump and Obama have escalated in recent months. Trump recently accused Obama and members of his administration of committing treason during the 2016 elections. Obama’s office has called the claims “outrageous,” bizarre,” and a “weak attempt at distraction,” likely referring to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein documents, which has put the Trump administration under scrutiny in recent weeks.
The Department of Justice, under the order of Attorney General Pam Bondi, ordered prosecutors to begin a grand jury investigation into allegations that top Obama administration officials manufactured intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
On the other hand, the moving of the Bush portraits comes amid years-long tensions between Trump and the Bush family. In a biography, the elder Bush, who died in 2018, called Trump a “blowhard” and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Trump has called George W. Bush a “failed and uninspiring” president.
