After Colorado officials decided to remove a portrait of President Donald Trump, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker teased the president over the controversy.
Trump sent out messages on his Truth Social account over the weekend criticizing the portrait, which he claimed was “purposely distorted” to draw ridicule.
Stream NBC 5 for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HERE“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump portrait to be taken down at Colorado Capitol after president claimed it was "distorted." pic.twitter.com/qPF6sedDpe
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 24, 2025
On Monday, officials in Colorado announced that the portrait would be taken down from the state’s Capitol, leading Pritzker to needle the president on social media.
“Is it for sale? Asking for a friend,” Pritzker said in the social media post.
Is it for sale? Asking for a friend. https://t.co/Jd5ggAGeH3
— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) March 24, 2025
According to NBC News, Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 to pay for the portrait during Trump’s first term in 2019. The artist, Sarah Boardman, had also produced the Capitol’s portrait of former President Barack Obama.
Democrats in Colorado also teased the president and legislative Republicans in the state, who had called for the portrait to be removed.
“If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” they said, according to the Associated Press.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the news you need to know with the Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
SIGN UP A spokesperson for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said they were “surprised to learn the president of the United States is an aficionado of our Colorado State Capitol and its artwork,” according to the AP.
