Trump's Tradition-Breaking Snub Of Obama Proves His Ego Knows No Bounds

The White House got some redecorating, and the theme was out with the old and in with the new. AP News reported that Donald Trump may have gone against typical White House protocol by moving former President Barack Obama's portrait so that a painting of Trump raising his fist in the aftermath of the July 2024 assassination attempt could take its place. The outlet reported that traditionally, the two presidents who last held office are represented in the artwork of the State Floor's foyer — which is where things get interesting. Counting unique individuals, that would mean Joe Biden and Obama would be the two most recent people, besides Trump, to hold office. But since Trump has now been in office for two separate, non-subsequent terms, technically he and Joe Biden have been the most recent presidents — which could have given Trump all the excuse he needed to get Obama out of the way for his macho work of art in the Entrance Hall. (Or who knows, maybe he's trying to reignite another Obama and Biden feud.)

Some new artwork at the White House 👀 pic.twitter.com/l6u5u7k82T

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 11, 2025

And it wasn't the first time Trump snubbed Obama. The outlet also reported that Trump previously broke the tradition of presidents inviting their predecessor to the White House for the unveiling of their presidential portraits. Trump never invited Obama after taking office in 2016, so after Biden was elected in 2020, he finally revealed the piece to the former president in 2022. It's possible Trump saw it as a two-for-one victory — he got another picture of himself on display and he also got to use it as a dig against his old political rival Obama. Plus we already know Trump loves himself. Who else would wear a tacky, ego-boosting lapel pin of their own face?

Despite Donald Trump going against typical White House decorating standards so people could see him looking like an action hero, Harrison Fields (a special assistant to the president and principal deputy press secretary for the White House) posted a photo to X, formerly known as Twitter, showing that Barack Obama's portrait was still hung in the State Floor's foyer — even if it had moved from its original location. The post was meant to push back on rumors that Obama's portrait had been taken down entirely, but instead it only emboldened Trump's followers to respond and say they would have preferred if it had actually disappeared altogether. 

Still, regardless of the technicalities, people were upset by the move and sensed that Trump was once again stroking his own ego by bending the rules. One user on X broke it down by writing, "So Trump ditched tradition, broke protocol, and took down Barack Obama's portrait — just to hang his own. Straight-up tin pot dictator energy. Insecure and petty to the end." Another offered a play on Trump's initials and instead called him "Donald Petty Trump." And others took issue with the portrait itself and didn't quite agree that it met the qualifications for art. With Trump insisting on putting his face out there, let's hope there aren't dwindling crowd sizes for White House tours — because we already know his ego won't be able to handle it.