August 13, 2025
Per tradition, the presidential portrait is supposed to hang in the grand foyer.
Trump has removed Barack Obama’s presidential portrait from the grand foyer of the White house, instead placing in it a hidden stairwell. According to CNN, the portrait swaps and locations were not only directly approved by Trump, but note a pattern of him slighting any politician who challenges his authority and presidential acumen.
The move is not only considered disrespectful by many in Washington, but an outright break from tradition. Trump’s presidency never sticks to protocol, with the removal of the portrait to an off-limits area of the White house becoming yet another instance. A White House official confirmed to People Aug. 11 about the painting’s location change.
White House tradition dictates that the two most recent presidential portraits hang in the Grand Foyer. This custom ensures visitors and guests get to witness the paintings upon entry. Currently, the latest portraits completed belong to Former Presidents Obama and George W. Bush.
According to the news outlet, this is not the first time Obama’s portrait had been snubbed. In April, Trump replaced the Obama portrait’s prominent location with an image of himself from his July 2024 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Obama’s portrait was moved to other side of the Grand Foyer, taking over the area where George W. Bush’s own portrait was displayed. As for his predecessor, that portrait then hung beside his own father and former president, George H.W. Bush, in a different part of the White House.
However, a recent switch has taken the Obama portrait essentially out of view for all. White House staffers moved the item to the top corner of the Grand staircase, which leads to the president’s private living area. At this partially obstructed viewpoint, the portrait remains off-limits to visitors.
The Obama portrait is not the only presidential painting tucked away. Next to his hangs Dwight D. Eisenhower’s portrait, with both Bushes hanging below.
Tensions between Obama and Trump have also heightened since Trump’s second term, with the president accusing Obama and his officials of manufacturing intelligence on the 2016 Russian election interference scandal.
Trump’s attorney general, Pamela Bondi, has already asked prosecutors to begin a grand jury probe into the accusations. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has also made a public call for Obama’s prosecution.
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