The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery has changed the picture of Donald Trump it has on display, as well as its accompanying text.
The change took place in the museum’s ‘America’s Presidents’ exhibition on Thursday following a complaint from a Trump administration official, according to reports.
The gallery previously displayed a picture of Donald Trump wearing a suit and red tie set against a black background next to wall text describing his tenure as president.
The wall text outlined some of Trump’s major political accomplishments, such as appointing three Supreme Court justices and his ‘historic comeback in the 2024 election.’
But the White House was reportedly unhappy with the less flattering descriptions of the president’s first term, particularly its mention that Trump was, ‘Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.’
The new black-and-white image on display shows Trump in the Oval Office scowling directly into the camera as he leans over the Resolute Desk with his fists planted firmly on it.
The picture was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, and Trump posted it on Truth Social in October along with a caption that read: ‘In the Oval Office, getting ready to leave our imprint on the World. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’
The new wall text accompanying the dramatic photo now simply identifies Trump as the 45th and 47th president and says he was born in 1946.
In a statement on Saturday, Whitehouse spokesman Davis Ingle said the new portrait is an ‘iconic photo’ that has ‘unmatched aura.’
The National Portrait Gallery said that it hung the new photo as part of a planned update to the America’s Presidents exhibition.
‘For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name,’ a statement from the Smithsonian said.
‘The history of presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums.’
Although the wall text for Trump’s portrait now omits any mention of impeachment, the text accompanying Bill Clinton’s portrait still says that he was impeached for ‘lying while under oath about a sexual relationship he had with a White House intern.’
The picture change came after Trump announced last year that he was firing the former National Portrait Gallery director, Kim Sajet.
The White House had compiled a list of grievances with Sajet, accusing her of partisanship and bias. A copy of that list reviewed by the New York Times specifically mentioned the sentence about impeachments in Trump’s portrait text.
The Smithsonian, which is technically independent from the executive branch, did not fire Sajet at Trump’s request.
But the former director resigned on her own amidst the pressure, saying it was in the best interest of the institution. The museum’s current acting director is Elliot Gruber.
The picture change can also be perceived as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to make the Smithsonian Institution present a more positive view of America.
In March, Trump issued an executive order titled ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,’ which instructed government officials to investigate the museum for ‘improper ideology.’
As part of that effort, the White House has demanded a long list of documents from the museum as the administration reviews current and planned exhibitions.
The Smithsonian has only produced some of those documents, and it now faces a deadline to turn in the rest by Tuesday or risk facing cuts to its $1billion budget, which relies heavily on federal funds.
The new portrait and simplified wall text also came after another Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of American History, changed its language regarding Trump’s impeachments in an exhibit about the American presidency in August.
The description said that Trump was charged with ‘incitement of insurrection,’ and the change removed two related sentences.
One of those sentences described ‘repeated “false statements” challenging the 2020 election results,’ and another said he made a speech that ‘encouraged – and foreseeably resulted in – imminent lawless action at the Capitol.’
The museum also added the word ‘alleged’ to this sentence: ‘The charges focused on the president’s alleged solicitation of foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election and defiance of Congressional subpoenas.’
