White House Swaps Barack Obama’s Official Portrait with Photo of Trump

The White House swapped the official portrait of former President Barack Obama for a painting based on a photograph of the sitting President Donald Trump, after the July 2024 assassination attempt on his life.

The portraits were swapped on Friday, April 11, per CNN. The new painting of Trump, 78, shows him raising his fist after a bullet grazed his ear at a rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024, in an apparent assassination attempt. The swap was announced via the White House’s official social media account.

The replacement breaks the White House tradition. It is customary to include portraits of the two most recent presidents that preceded the sitting president in the Grand Foyer in the East Wing, near the entrance of the executive mansion, so state guests and visitors can view them in a prominent location. As former President Joe Biden‘s portrait is not complete, the two most recent presidential portraits on display were that of Obama, 63, and Obama’s predecessor, President George W. Bush.

Obama’s portrait is now hung across the Grand Foyer, where it had been since 2022. Bush’s portrait was prematurely removed and moved to a different location next to the portrait of his late father, former President George H.W. Bush, at a nearby staircase in the mansion, per CNN.

PEOPLE has reached out to a rep for Obama, the White House, and the White House Historical Association for comment. WHHA said that it is a question for the White House, and the White House has not responded. A representative for Obama declined to comment.

The move is reminiscent of Trump’s actions in his previous term when he similarly replaced portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and Bush in the Grand Foyer. Instead, he opted to showcase former Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama‘s portraits were painted by Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung, respectively.

The artist behind the painting of Trump has yet to be confirmed. However, the painting is based on photographs of the assassination attempt by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and New York Times photographer Doug Mills.

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The tradition of the presidential portrait is privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association. The portrait became an organized custom in the 1960s under former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Prior to the 1960s, portraits were either commissioned by Congress or personal friends of the president.