Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Art, Barack Obama, Florida, History
The White House has replaced a portrait of Obama with a dramatic painting of the moment President Trump was grazed by a bullet in an assassination attempt.
On July 13 last year, suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to gun down Donald Trump while attending a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The 20-year-old fired eight rounds from a gun from the roof of a nearby building, injuring two and fatally wounding one audience member.
A bullet also struck and wounded Trump's right ear, as dramatic photographs of the moment show blood smeared on the side of his face while Secret Service officers surrounded him.
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Crooks was killed at the scene by law enforcement.
And despite the near-miss that could've easily been fatal, Trump could be seen defiantly raising his right fist to the sky through a tangle of agents' arms and his bloodied head held high to a backdrop of a blue sky and a waving American flag in what quickly became a somewhat iconic photograph for the Republican representative.
Now, an artistic interpretation of the image, captured by Associated Press photographer, Evan Vucci, has been placed center stage in the Grand Foyer of the East Wing of the building, White House officials have revealed.
The prominent location is traditionally reserved for a painting depicting the most recent president, though neither Trump nor his predecessor-turned-successor Joe Biden have unveiled official portraits since the 44th president, Barack Obama, whose portrait made by Robert McCurdy dominated the spot just outside the East Room since September 2022.
Trump's painting by Florida-based artist, Mark Lipp, has now taken over after the artwork was gifted to the POTUS by Andrew Pollack, a GOP activist whose daughter was killed in the mass school shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018, according to The Independent.
Pollack's 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was one of the 17 students killed in the Florida shooting.
As for the photorealistic image of Obama, it has found a new home - at the Entrance Hall of the White House State Floor, where it overlooks former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Steinway grand piano.
Commenting on the new artwork on Twitter, many said the painting was 'epic' and 'iconic.'
"This brings a tear to my eye," said one. "Some of the greatest art ever made by human hands."
Another added: "That image will always be a part of American history. Knew it the moment it happened."
However, some aren't best pleased with the replacement, as political strategist and Biden supporter, Chris Jackson, wrote on Twitter: "So Trump ditched tradition, broke protocol, and took down Barack Obama’s portrait—just to hang his own. Straight-up tin pot dictator energy. Insecure and petty to the end."
Others slammed the move as 'cringe' and 'self-obsessed.'
"I don't think I ever met someone so in love with himself," said another.
According to The Independent, there could be a copyright infringement issue if the photographer has not granted permission for the image to be reproduced.
The Associated Press has taken artists to court for copyright disputes before, including a long-running issue over Shepard Fairey's 'Hope' campaign poster of Obama that had been taken by an AP photographer.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to decorate the White House with his own personal touches, from gold flourishes in the Oval Office to lining the West Wing with the front pages of The New York Post that document his momentous political return.
