Overview

• On August 10, Trump ordered the official portraits of Barack Obama, George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush moved from the Grand Foyer to the top landing of the Grand Staircase.
• The new stairwell location is limited to the first family, Secret Service agents and a small number of residence staff, keeping the paintings out of view of public tours.
• This is the second time Trump has repositioned Obama’s portrait this year after moving it in April and replacing it with a painting of his Butler, Pennsylvania assassination-attempt aftermath.
• The move contravenes decades-old White House protocol that recent presidents’ portraits belong in the entrance of the Executive Mansion for all visitors to see.
• Multiple sources report that Trump personally oversees nearly every aesthetic change at the White House and uses decor decisions to assert his administration’s dominance over predecessor legacies.