Trump’s White House took down Clinton and W Bush portraits — and put them in a storage room: report

The politics of presidential portraits continue to swirl around the Trump administration, according to a new report by CNN.

"The official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House within the last week, aides told CNN, and replaced by those of two Republican presidents who served more than a century ago," CNN reported. "White House tradition calls for portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent placement, in the entrance of the executive mansion, visible to guests during official events."

"Photographs of the new portrait locations were reviewed by CNN, showing the Clinton and Bush portraits now hanging in the Old Family Dining Room, a small space off the grand State Dining Room," CNN explained. "The Old Family Dining Room is barely used in the Trump administration, aides said, and was taken off the list of locations visited during White House tours before the pandemic closed the executive mansion to the public. 'President and Mrs. Trump did not want that room showcased on public tours,' a separate official said, adding that the room had essentially become a storage room during the last three years.

This is not the first time Trump has broken with tradition on presidential portraits.

"The portrait of former President Barack Obama is not expected to be unveiled for a formal ceremony during Trump's first term, a sign of the bitter relationship between the 44th and 45th presidents. Trump has accused Obama of unsubstantiated and unspecified crimes, and has questioned whether Obama was born in the US for years," CNN reminded.