New Trump portrait donated by White House hangs in Colorado Capitol after earlier one drew his ire
The new portrait by Tempe, Arizona, artist Vanessa Horabuena is a sterner, crisper image than Sarah Boardman's painting of Trump that had hung since 2019.
Last spring, Trump posted on social media that Boardman 'must have lost her talent as she got older' and 'purposely distorted' him, criticisms the Colorado Springs artist denied.
The next day, lawmakers announced they would remove the portrait from a wall of past presidents. By the day after that, Boardman's painting was gone, put into museum storage.
The Horabuena portrait donated by the White House a month or so ago went up this week after a Thursday decision by Lois Court, a former state lawmaker who chairs the Capitol Building Advisory Committee that helps select artwork for the Capitol in downtown Denver.
"There was a blank on the wall. It seemed inappropriate. We knew that the White House had sent us this replacement and it simply made sense to put it up,' Court said.
The White House donated the Horabuena portrait a month or so ago, said Court.
Horabuena is a 'Christian worship artist' who has done several other depictions of Trump as well as Abraham Lincoln, Mount Rushmore and Jesus Christ, according to her website.
On Tuesday, the Colorado statehouse was sleepy with lawmakers out of session and no schoolchildren visiting the historic building. A smattering of tourists took photos of the new portrait.
Horabuena did not return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment.
'Thank you to the Highly Talented Artist, Vanessa Horabuena, and the incredible people of Colorado,' Trump posted Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social.
The portrait and others of past presidents might not remain up for long. The advisory committee is considering whether to replace them with portraits of past governors to mark the 150th anniversary of Colorado statehood next year.
___
AP videojournalist Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ben Folds Admits It's Hard to Reason Why He Didn't Stay at Kennedy Center to Combat Trump
Ben Folds reflected on his decision to step down as the artistic adviser of the Kennedy Center's National Symphony Orchestra earlier this year, telling MeidasTouch Sunday that it's a choice that he knows was right, but he still struggles to articulate why. Folds served as the first artistic adviser for the NSO from 2019 to 2025, but he resigned following the Trump administration's takeover of the Kennedy Center in February. More from TheWrap Ben Folds Admits It's Hard to Reason Why He Didn't Stay at Kennedy Center to Combat Trump | Video 111 BBC Journalists Blast Broadcaster for 'Censorship' of Gaza Coverage, Call for Robbie Gibb's Board Removal CBS' John Dickerson Says Trump Settlement Jeopardizes Network Holding 'Power to Account After Paying It Millions' | Video Elizabeth Warren Rallies for 'Full Investigation' Into Trump-'60 Minutes' Settlement, Says Paramount Has Refused to Answer Inquiries 'I know I did the right thing,' Folds said. The musician explained that while he's 'not used to messaging this sort of thing,' he's spent several years advocating for arts funding in the United States, but he could no longer remain in the role at the Kennedy Center because 'what I saw was an abuse of power, a very extreme one.' 'There was why I resigned, and then there's kind of the other question that I think people want answered, which is, 'Why not stay?'' he shared. Watch the musician's interview below: 'People might not realize how the arts work in the government, but it's very separated from the art itself. The government, artists and politics is separated with a firewall from what we say, how we say it, who says it — that's up to the people,' he continued. 'And the firewall was breached in the biggest way. I mean, [Trump] let go of the board, which was bipartisan. Once the board was gone, installed loyalists, the loyalists came in and voted in — guess who — Trump to be the chairman, the head of the Kennedy Center.' The situation was 'alarming,' Folds said, 'because now he can put, or they can put their fist on the scale of what is programmed, who gets to speak and who doesn't get to speak at our greatest arts institution, the Kennedy Center.' 'The thing I have a hard time explaining to people is why not stay and sort of fight it out,' Folds admitted, turning to MeidasTouch co-founder and interviewer for the video Ben Meiselas. 'And I think I can really use some coaching on this because I know I did the right thing.' Meiselas agreed. 'My thought is, is that you don't want to be used as a puppet for the regime, and they're going to use someone like you with your distinguished career,' he said. 'And they're going to say, look, Ben Fold supports me, you know, take a look at what Trump does.' 'What he loves the most is celebrity,' Meiselas continued. 'And when he just has Kid Rock over and over and over again, he wants Ben Folds to say, look, here's an artist with kind of deep intellectual roots who supports me, and if Ben Folds supports you, you should too. So that's my belief about why you have to leave because you're just used as a prop.' Trump was elected as Kennedy Center Board Chair in February. 'The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces executive leadership changes, effective immediately. At a Kennedy Center Board meeting this afternoon, the Board elected President of the United States Donald J. Trump as Kennedy Center Board Chair, replacing former Chair David M. Rubenstein. The Board also terminated Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter's contract and announced Richard Grenell as interim Kennedy Center President,' the Center announced in a press release at the time. 'Fourteen new Kennedy Center Board of Trustee members were also announced today including President Donald J. Trump, Susie Wiles, Dan Scavino, Allison Lutnick, Lynda Lomangino, Mindy Levine, Usha Vance, Pamela Gross, John Falconetti, Cheri Summerall, Sergio Gor, Emilia May Fanjul, Patricia Duggan, Dana Blumberg, bringing the total number of board members to 31.' The post Ben Folds Admits It's Hard to Reason Why He Didn't Stay at Kennedy Center to Combat Trump | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Trump Says Musk Is ‘Off the Rails' With His Third-Party Effort
President Trump assailed Elon Musk on Sunday night, describing him as 'off the rails' after Mr. Musk said he was creating a new political party amid an ongoing rift with the president. 'I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening. 'He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States.' Mr. Musk's effort to create a new political party, called the America Party, is the latest rupture in his relationship with Mr. Trump. Mr. Musk, the world's wealthiest man, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to support Mr. Trump's presidential campaign, and then Mr. Trump rewarded him with a wide-ranging position overseeing drastic cuts to government staffing and contracts. Their close bond crumbled in a public spectacle last month, as Mr. Trump pushed his sprawling domestic policy bill through Congress. Mr. Musk panned the legislation, which is projected to add trillions to the federal debt, as a 'disgusting abomination.' He has said he would support primary challengers against any Republican who voted for the legislation, which passed with almost unanimous Republican support, but he has given few details about his new political party. 'Backing a candidate for president is not out of the question, but the focus for the next 12 months is on the House and the Senate,' Mr. Musk wrote on X on Sunday. Mr. Trump has also threatened to cut billions of dollars in federal contracts and tax subsidies for Mr. Musk's companies. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business Upturn
an hour ago
- Business Upturn
With Debt Concerns Mounting, Resurfacing Presentation from Jim Rickards Suggests U.S. May Already Own What It Needs to Fund Trump's Economic Revival
Washington, D.C., July 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As negotiations intensify over how to pay for President Trump's sweeping economic legislation—dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill' by those close to the administration—a released presentation from economic strategist Jim Rickards details a resource that could ensure this needed windfall does not come in the form of taxes or borrowing at all. Instead, Rickards discusses a hidden reserve of national wealth that has remained buried—both literally and politically—for generations. And now, for the first time in half a century, the doors may be opening. A Financial Resource Buried in the American West Rickards' presentation outlines the vast holdings of critical materials beneath federally owned land—resources essential for energy, defense, technology, and modern infrastructure. While the U.S. Geological Survey has long documented these deposits, Rickards says their potential value has never been fully recognized as a financial tool. According to the presentation, this resource base spans across every state, with extraordinary concentrations in key regions. '$516 billion is here in the Salton Sea area of California… $3.1 trillion is held in Nome, Alaska. And $7.35 trillion is here, in Midland, Texas' . He says that what's most remarkable isn't the size—but the fact that it's never been touched. 'The nature of this 'trust', as I call it, is such that politicians haven't been able to raid it… which has allowed it to grow untouched… for decades' . An Alternative to Debt, Hidden in Plain Sight Rather than relying on new bond issuances or foreign capital, Rickards proposes that America's next economic chapter be funded using what it already owns. 'We've had this rich 'endowment' right under our feet… yet for years, we refused to touch it'. He insists this is not a stimulus check or a new federal program. 'It's not some kind of government program like those COVID relief checks a few years back,' Rickards says. 'But it is a chance for the average American to become richer than they ever imagined'. Trump's Shift Toward Domestic Wealth The presentation positions Trump's current resource policies as a historic pivot. Rickards notes that, unlike past presidents who kept these resources off-limits, Trump is now unlocking them. 'Trump is re-opening our mineral-rich Federal Lands. And fast-tracking companies that could recover trillions of dollars' worth of resources, right here in America' . Even Trump's own comments suggest a new direction. 'There are certain areas where we have great, raw earth… and we're not allowed to use it because of the environment. I'm going to open them up,' Trump said. Projects Delayed for Generations Now Moving Forward Rickards points to specific projects—some sitting dormant for decades—as early signs of movement. 'The Resolution Copper Mine has been sitting for 29 years… Pebble Mine in Alaska has been stalled since 1990… and Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in Nevada has been blocked since 1978' . He says the barriers were never technical—they were political. 'For the past 50 years, fake-experts have strangled us from within the government,' he says. 'They tied us down with reams of regulation' . Now, that's changing. 'We know exactly where these minerals are. We know they're worth trillions of dollars. And now—for the first time in half a century—we can go get them' . A Moment of Reckoning Rickards says that this moment is not just about policy—it's about recognizing what America already has. 'America is anything BUT broke,' he writes. 'And if you understand what's bound to happen next? You could watch your own net worth soar in the years ahead' . He emphasizes that the resource isn't theoretical or abstract. It's real, verifiable, and already owned by the American public. 'It's not earmarked for any specific individual,' Rickards clarifies. 'I'm just trying to use terminology that will make the most sense to viewers' . About Jim Rickards Jim Rickards is a former advisor to the White House, CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Treasury. He played a key role in the original Petrodollar Accord and has been involved in the federal response to numerous global crises. Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash
