Photo: Getty Images North America
President Donald Trump has relocated a portrait of former President Barack Obama from prominent public display to a staircase that only staffers can access in the White House.
According to CNN, Trump ordered staff to move Obama's portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, which leads to the White House residence, accessible only to a few staffers and Secret Service agents. The president also relocated portraits of former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush from public display to the same staircase.
The move breaks a decades-long norm that put portraits of recent former presidents on display for guests and visitors of the White House. This is also the second time Trump has relocated Obama's portrait. The president had initially moved it from one side of the White House Grand Foyer to another to make room for a painting of himself raising his fist following the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump has recently taken aim at Obama and his administration officials amid mounting criticism over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Trump's National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard claimed the Obama administration promoted a "contrived narrative" about Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last month, the president called for the Justice Department to "go after" Obama, who he alleged was "guilty" of "treason."
"He's guilty. This was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody's ever even imagined," Trump previously said.
Obama has shut down allegations that his administration plotted to manufacture Russian influence in the 2016 election.
“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Obama’s office said in a statement. “These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
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