Colorado to take down Trump portrait at state Capitol after president demands removal of 'distorted' painting

Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden. Rosie O’Donnell. President Donald Trump has a long list of foes, and this weekend he added another: a painting of himself.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted a portrait of him that has been hanging in the Colorado state Capitol and demanded its removal.

“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 claimed in a lengthy post Sunday night.

He added that he “would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”

On Monday, he got his wish. The executive committee of the General Assembly's legislative council issued a bipartisan directive that the portrait be "immediately" taken down.

"The removed portrait shall be stored in a secure and appropriate location, as determined by the Director of Research of Legislative Council Staff, until further notice," the directive said.

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In a statement, a spokesperson for Colorado House Democrats said: “Republican leadership asked for it to be taken down. The Speaker and Majority Leader are focused on keeping Coloradans safe and reducing costs, not hanging portraits. If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.

Earlier in the day, Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said Polis "was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork.”

"We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience," Wieman continued in a statement, noting that the state Capitol also includes portraits of former presidents and former governors.

The artist, Sarah Boardman, has painted portraits of a slew of prominent figures, including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, which are featured on her website. Trump said in his post that Obama's portrait "looks wonderful" but that Boardman "must have lost her talent as she got older."

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The oil-on-canvas portrait of Trump was presented in 2019, according to Boardman's website. Boardman said on her website that she "had the honor of being commissioned to paint" Trump's portrait.

"Thank you to all the dignitaries, staff, donors and visitors who attended and made this a wonderful event!" she said in a caption for the portrait on her website, referring to the portrait's unveiling event. "Feeling very grateful for this opportunity."

Boardman did not respond to a request for comment.