The White House entryway may look noticeably different to visitors after the official portrait of former President Barack Obama was relocated to a far less prominent spot, underscoring the long-running tensions between the 44th and 47th presidents.
Portraits of other recent predecessors with whom President Donald Trump has a contentious relationship, former President George W Bush and his father, George H W Bush, have also been relocated.
Trump directed staff to move the Obama portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, where it will now be out of view from thousands of visitors who tour the White House each day.
One of the sources told CNN that the portraits of both Bushes are also now in the staircase area. Multiple sources have said that the president is directly involved with nearly everything that is done to the aesthetic of the White House, big or small.
That area is heavily restricted to members of the first family, US Secret Service agents, and a limited number of White House and executive residence staff. It is firmly out of view for any visitor hoping to see the photorealistic Robert McCurdy painting of the former president, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
It is not the first time the Obama painting has been repositioned. In April, the Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced with a painting of an iconic scene of Trump surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
White House protocol and precedent call 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 and visitors on tours.
A portrait of former President Joe Biden has not yet been completed. The portrait maneuvers mark Trump’s latest slight against a perceived political rival. It comes as tensions between Trump and Obama have escalated in recent months.
Trump recently accused Obama and members of his administration of committing treason during the 2016 election, prompting a rare statement from his predecessor, whose office called the claims “outrageous,” “bizarre,” and “a weak attempt at distraction.”
The president’s attorney general, Pamela Bondi, subsequently ordered prosecutors to begin a grand jury probe into allegations that top Obama administration officials manufactured intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
There have also been long-simmering tensions between Trump and the Bush family. The elder Bush, who died in 2018, called Trump a “blowhard” in a biography and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. George W Bush, whom Trump has attacked as a “failed and uninspiring” president, and former first lady Laura Bush attended the president’s 2025 inauguration but did not attend the post-ceremony luncheon. During Trump’s first term, he replaced portraits of Bill Clinton and George W Bush in the Grand Foyer, choosing instead to highlight William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
Privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association, the formal tradition of the presidential portrait began in the early 1960s under First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, according to former White House curator Betty Monkman.
Portraits of other recent predecessors with whom President Donald Trump has a contentious relationship, former President George W Bush and his father, George H W Bush, have also been relocated.
Trump directed staff to move the Obama portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, where it will now be out of view from thousands of visitors who tour the White House each day.
🚨NEW: The Trump Administration has removed President Obama’s portrait from its place in the White House, moving it out of view to a hidden stairwell.
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) August 11, 2025
RETWEET if you stand with @BarackObama against Donald Trump! pic.twitter.com/h7bnX4FodA
One of the sources told CNN that the portraits of both Bushes are also now in the staircase area. Multiple sources have said that the president is directly involved with nearly everything that is done to the aesthetic of the White House, big or small.
That area is heavily restricted to members of the first family, US Secret Service agents, and a limited number of White House and executive residence staff. It is firmly out of view for any visitor hoping to see the photorealistic Robert McCurdy painting of the former president, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.
It is not the first time the Obama painting has been repositioned. In April, the Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced with a painting of an iconic scene of Trump surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
White House protocol and precedent call 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 and visitors on tours.
A portrait of former President Joe Biden has not yet been completed. The portrait maneuvers mark Trump’s latest slight against a perceived political rival. It comes as tensions between Trump and Obama have escalated in recent months.
Trump recently accused Obama and members of his administration of committing treason during the 2016 election, prompting a rare statement from his predecessor, whose office called the claims “outrageous,” “bizarre,” and “a weak attempt at distraction.”
The president’s attorney general, Pamela Bondi, subsequently ordered prosecutors to begin a grand jury probe into allegations that top Obama administration officials manufactured intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
There have also been long-simmering tensions between Trump and the Bush family. The elder Bush, who died in 2018, called Trump a “blowhard” in a biography and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. George W Bush, whom Trump has attacked as a “failed and uninspiring” president, and former first lady Laura Bush attended the president’s 2025 inauguration but did not attend the post-ceremony luncheon. During Trump’s first term, he replaced portraits of Bill Clinton and George W Bush in the Grand Foyer, choosing instead to highlight William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
Privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association, the formal tradition of the presidential portrait began in the early 1960s under First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, according to former White House curator Betty Monkman.
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