White House Photographer Pete Souza Slams Trump’s Decision to Hide Obama’s Portrait

Former White House photographer Pete Souza has criticized President Trump’s decision to hide away President Obama’s official portrait from the Grand Foyer of the White House.

Souza took to Instagram to suggest the decision was either “petty or racist” after Trump directed Obama’s photorealistic portrait, painted by Robert McCurdy in 2018, to be moved to the top of the Grand Staircase, out of view from the scores of tourists that visit the White House each day.

Protocol dictates that portraits of the most recent presidents are hung in the Grand Foyer, then in the Cross Hall, and then in the Grand Staircase, in that order.

“They are all prominently displayed so visitors during the White House public tours would see the most recent presidents,” says Souza. “Other portraits like Lincoln and Washington are displayed prominently in the State Dining Room and East Room.”

The former Chief Official White House Photographer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Obama says that during the latter’s tenure, portraits of President Bush and President Clinton hung in the Grand Foyer, while the elder President Bush hung in the Cross Hall along with Reagan, Carter, Ford, and Kennedy.

Obama’s portrait is currently hanging at the top of the Grand Staircase, which is where the portraits of Eisenhower and Truman hung during Obama’s reign. But Obama’s portrait isn’t even there; it’s at the top of the staircase, completely out of view.

“These were not visible to those on the White House tours,” says Souza of the portrait space that Obama now takes up. “Actually, they weren’t visible to anyone except those descending those stairs from the private residence.”

Speculating on why Trump ordered the painting to be hung in a hidden location, Souza says, “Was it because President Obama lives rent-free in the current occupant’s head? I’d say that’s pretty petty.⁣”

CNN reports that Obama’s portrait is not the only one to have been moved in the Trump White House; both George Bush Jr’s and George Bush Sr’s visages have gone from their traditional positions.

Souza is not shy about criticizing Trump after calling the presidential photo stream “an Oval Office reality show” earlier this year. He also deleted his X account after making controversial comments about the Trump assassination attempt in Butler.