White House Swaps Barack Obama’s Official Portrait with Painting of Trump After Assassination Attempt

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.

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, as it is customary to include the two most recent presidential portraits in the Grand Foyer, near the entrance of the executive mansion, so state guests and visitors can view them in a prominent location.

Since Trump and Joe Biden‘s portraits are not yet complete, the two most recent presidential portraits on display were that of Obama, 63, and his predecessor, President George W. Bush.

Obama’s portrait is now hung across the Grand Foyer, where Bush’s had been hanging. Bush’s portrait was prematurely bumped out of the Grand Foyer and relocated to a different location next to the portrait of his late father, former President George H.W. Bush, per CNN.

PEOPLE reached out to the White House, the White House Historical Association and an Obama spokesperson for comment. The WHHA pointed PEOPLE to the White House, and the White House did not respond. 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 new painting of Trump has yet to be confirmed, though it is not his official White House portrait, which is normally ceremonially revealed in the years after leaving office. The new painting is based on photographs of the assassination attempt by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci and New York Times photographer Doug Mills.

The tradition of the presidential portrait is privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association.