Guests to the White House cannot avoid the latest painting to be hung in the Grand Foyer of the presidential residence—a picture showing President Donald Trump with blood on his face and his arm aloft in front of a US flag immediately after the attempt on his life in July last year.
A film posted on X last month by White House officials, which shows the painting displayed in the main entrance, has the caption: “Some new artwork at the White House.” Tradition calls for portraits of the most recent US presidents to be shown in the most prominent spots in the entrance of the executive mansion, wowing starstruck guests.
The artist behind the new Trump painting is Florida-based Marc Lipp, according to the New York Post (the White House did not respond to our email about the work). Trump devotees naturally waxed lyrical about the adulatory image—“an awesome portrait”—but others were not so sure, lambasting the picture. “It ain’t exactly Matisse is it?” said one wag, adding: “More like Tariff Lautrec.”