Former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump will have their portraits for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery along with previous presidents, but those paintings were paid for by a super PAC instead of the former president, or donations from fans of the former president.
According to Business Insider,, Trump's super PAC, Save America PAC, reported a $650,000 donation to the Smithsonian for the artwork.
Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas explained that the group typically solicits private donations to pay for presidential portraits but in Trump's case it was his super PAC and one additional "private donation" that funded the paintings.
The costs of paintings of Barack and Michelle Obama cost $500,000, but the portrait gallery "raised $750,000 from nearly 300 donors to pay" for those paintings. There were also a list of donors who contributed to the portraits of former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush.
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"Two artists have been commissioned. One for each portrait," St. Thomas told USA Today. "The names will be released closer to the reveal of the paintings as is the museum’s tradition. The funds support the artists’ fees, shipping, framing, installation and events."
It's unknown if Jon McNaughton, a Trump-loving artist who has painted worshipful portraits of the former president will be the one to paint the presidential mug.
See the full report via Business Insider.
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