Portrait of President Trump will be removed from Colorado Capitol

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account on Sunday to demand that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis take down a portrait of him hanging in the State Capitol that he claims is "purposefully distorted" – a painting that was done by an artist based in Colorado Springs.

"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," he wrote in a Truth Social post on March 23. "I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one."

He is now calling on Polis to "take it down," blaming Colorado's governor for the portrait.

"Jared should be ashamed of himself!" the post said.

Monday afternoon, House Democrats released a statement saying the portrait would be coming down. “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 statement said.

In the post, Trump said that he was requesting the portrait's removal on behalf of many Coloradoans who have "called and written to complain."

In a statement sent to our Denver news partners, a spokesperson for the governor's office said that Gov. 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," the statement read in part.

In reality, the portrait was not commissioned by Polis, nor any opponents of the president. In 2018, Republican State Senator Kevin Grantham launched a GoFundMe to raise the $10,000 needed to commission the portrait.

The portrait was first unveiled in 2019 after Republican-led efforts to get his painting added to the collection of portraits in the State Capitol.

It was completed by Sarah A. Boardman, a British-born artist now based in Colorado Springs. Boardman also painted the portrait of former President Barack Obama after Lawrence Williams, the artist who painted the 43 previous presidential portraits, died in 2003.

“Whether this portrait brings a smile or scowl to your face, remember you have the right to do so because this is the United States of America,” Grantham told our Denver news partners back in 2019 when the portrait was unveiled.

On Monday KRDO13 attempted to speak with artist Sarah Boardman at her Colorado Springs home and unfortunately, while we could not speak with her KRDO13 spoke with her husband who said they're opting out of joining this conversation. He said she's an artist, not a politician. And that art is bound to make people feel one way or another about it. 

KRDO13 also spoke with former Republican State Senator and current Fremont County Commissioner, Kevin Grantham. Before the announcement of the painting being taken down, Grantham said the president should have a say in what portrait is representing him in our state capitol.

"If there's no beauty in the eye of the beholder in particular, let's find one he likes and one that fits the bill. And we'll replace it. Simple as that," explained Grantham.  

KRDO13 also asked The White House if the fact that a group of Republicans pushed to get the portrait up changed anything. The White House promptly responded saying it had nothing to add. 

Grantham says the portraits in the State Capitol rotunda are all about honoring the people who have served in those roles. 

"If one of them is held out as being a dishonorable representation of them, then, ultimately, I think we have failed in doing our core duty of making sure that it is honoring those people that have served in that capacity," shared Grantham.

Grantham also said in the future the Capitol Building Advisory Committee should be making a greater effort to contact the White House Administration to run the portraits by them. 

KRDO13 has learned the portrait will be coming down some time this week. But it’s still unclear what the next steps are to replace it. Grantham says if asked, he'd be more than happy to help fundraise for a new portrait to be commissioned.