President Donald Trump’s White House has reportedly broken a longtime tradition of displaying portraits of recent presidents in a prominent place, instead moving the portraits of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton into a small and rarely used room where he will not have to see them.
As CNN reported, aides said that portraits were removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House in the last week and replaced by two Republican presidents who served more than 100 years ago. As the reported noted, the portraits had been seen in the Grand Foyer as recently as July 8, when Trump hosted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and pictures showed the Bush and Clinton portraits in their normal, prominent place of display. The report noted that for decades the White House occupant has displayed portraits of the most recent presidents in places where they will be seen by distinguished guests.
Since the July 8 meeting, both portraits were moved into the White House’s Old Family Dining Room, which CNN noted is small and rarely used, as well as out of sight for visitors. The new placement also means that the president himself will not see the portraits.
“That places the paintings well outside of Trump’s vantage point in the White House,” the report noted. “In their previous location, the pictures would have been seen daily as Trump descends the staircase from his third floor private residence or when he hosts events on the state floor of the White House. Now, they hang in a space used mainly for storing unused tablecloths and furniture.”
Trump will also likely never see a portrait of his immediate predecessor, Barack Obama. As The Inquisitr reported, the president is breaking decades of tradition by not unveiling his predecessor’s official White House portrait during his term in office. A report from NBC News noted that Obama has shown “no interest” in the unveiling, which is seen as a nod to the peaceful transition of power that has marked the American presidency since the founding of the country. Trump is also not interested in hosting the event for Obama, the report added.
Trump has been sharply critical of his immediate predecessors, attacking Obama and Clinton as well as Bush.
As CNN noted, the spot where Bush’s portrait was once displayed has since been replaced by one showing William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901. The spot occupied by Clinton’s portrait now shows Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded McKinley.