Newsom Expertly Rips Trump For Hiding Obama Portrait In Hidden Staircase At White House

In 2022, Democratic President Barack Obama's official White House portrait was unveiled.

This is the painting that remains at the White House as part of that building's official collection, not the one that resides in the Smithsonian Museum's National Portrait Gallery.

Afterward, it was placed in the entryway at the bottom of the grand staircase—in keeping with White House tradition.

The prior President’s portrait is usually placed in this spot. The Bidens and Obamas came together for the 2022 unveiling of their White House portraits by artists Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung.

The Obamas' portraits for the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery were unveiled in 2018 and were by artists Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley.

By tradition, President Biden's White House portrait should replace President Obama's at the bottom of the grand staircase once it is completed.

Except President Obama's portrait is no longer there.

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump had Presidents Obama and Bush's portraits removed from public view. President Obama's portrait was moved from the entryway to a spot far from the view of visitors who pass the White House on official tours.

Republican Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush's portraits were also moved out of the public eye, just a few steps away from President Obama. The White House source that confirmed Trump ordered them moved didn't specify why the portraits were effectively hidden from the public.

But California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom posed his theory on social media.

He wrote:

"Small men hide from history’s giants."

People concurred with Newsom's assessment.

@TexasSundog/X

@namwella1961/X

Online speculation about Trump's reasoning centered primarily on his well documented history of pettiness and jealousy of anyone more popular or successful than him.

When it comes to the presidency, that's a pretty long list based on polls of historians and the American public.