Smithsonian scrubs negative info about Trump from caption of presidential portrait: report
Donald Trump's official presidential portrait has been altered by the Smithsonian so that it no longer includes information about the impeachments in his first term, despite the fact that Bill Clinton's portrait caption still describes his impeachment, according to reporting.
The Washington Post broke the story on Saturday, writing that, "A Trump official previously complained about a caption beside his National Portrait Gallery photo mentioning his impeachments and the U.S. Capitol insurrection."
"The National Portrait Gallery removed a swath of text that mentioned President Donald Trump’s two impeachments and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as it swapped out a prominent photo of him this week," the outlet reported.
The Smithsonian reportedly switched out the photo itself, which the new one showing "Trump staring intensely, with his fists on the Resolute Desk."
According to the Post's report:
"It replaced a photo by Washington Post photojournalist Matt McClain, which showed Trump with his hands folded in front of him, and was accompanied by a longer caption recounting Trump’s first term and his reelection. 'Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials,' it read, in part."
The Post notes that a Trump official had complained about the caption, which mirrored the one for Clinton but is now completely different.
"The placard has been replaced with one whose caption is so short that the outline of the old sign was visible on the wall beneath it, simply noting Trump’s years in office," the outlet reported. "It now contrasts with portraits of other former presidents, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, which all hang alongside wall text highlighting events during their time in office. Clinton’s notes his impeachment."