Who painted Donald Trump's portrait at the Colorado State Capitol? POTUS calls it the "worst," orders Governor Jared Polis "to take it down"

Recently, U.S President Donald Trump publicly demanded the removal of his portrait from the Colorado State Capitol, claiming it was "purposefully distorted." He also alleged that he had received complaints about the painting. He further demanded Colorado Governor Jared Polis to take down the portrait.

In a Truth Social post on March 23, 2025, Trump addressed the painting, stating:

“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before…”

According to a report by the Associated Press dated March 24, 2025, Donald Trump's portrait at the Colorado State Capitol was painted by Sarah Boardman.

The oil painting was unveiled in 2019 and was created during the POTUS' first term. Colorado Republicans raised over $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to commission Boardman, who had previously painted the portrait of President Barack Obama for the Capitol.

Donald Trump also mentioned the artist in his Truth Social post writing:

“The artist also did President Obama, and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older. In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain…”

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Donald Trump urged the Colorado office to remove the painting

Donald Trump claimed many complained about his portrait at the Colorado State Capitol (Image via Getty)

According to a March 24, 2025 report by The Denver Post, Sarah Boardman stated in 2019—when the image was released—that she wanted both Donald Trump and Barack Obama to appear "apolitical" in their portraits.

"In today’s environment it’s all very upfront, but in another five, 10, 15 years he will be another president on the wall. And he needs to look neutral," Boardman said to the outlet at the time.

Lawrence Williams painted the other 43 presidential portraits in the Colorado gallery. However, he passed away before he could add Obama's portrait to the collection.

Claiming that many Coloradans have reportedly called state officials to ask that it be changed or taken down, Trump specifically criticized Governor Jared Polis in his Truth Social post. The president wrote:

“In fact, they are actually angry about it! I am speaking on their behalf to the Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on Crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don’t worry, we saved it!), to take it down. Jared should be ashamed of himself!..”

Here, Trump was referring to the members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TdA, who were active in Aurora, Colorado, last year.

Addressing the criticism, a representative for Governor Polis told The Hill on March 23, 2025:

“Gov. Polis was surprised to learn the President of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork. The State Capitol was completed in 1901, and features Rose Onyx and White Yule Marble mined in Colorado…”

The representative concluded:

“[It] includes portraits of former Presidents and former governors. We appreciate the President and everyone’s interest in our capitol building and are always looking for any opportunity to improve our visitor experience.”

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However, according to the same outlet, the portrait has not been removed.