The US president claimed the portrait by British artist Sarah Boardman, which is currently hanging in Colorado’s State Capitol, was “purposefully distorted”.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, he said: “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.”
He said a portrait by the same artist of former US president Barack Obama was “wonderful” but “the one on me is truly the worst”.
Referring to the artist, whose collection of official portraits also includes one of former president George W. Bush, Mr Trump said “she must have lost her talent as she got older”.
He then added: “In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one.”
Mr Trump’s portrait by Boardman has been hanging in the State Capitol since 2019. It is unclear what sparked Mr Trump’s complaint on Sunday night.
The president, who started his second stint in the White House when he was sworn in on 20 January, appealed to the “Radical Left Governor, Jared Polis” to take it down.
The 78-year-old said he was speaking on behalf of “many people from Colorado” who were “angry” about the picture and wanted it removed.
The president ended his post saying: “Jared should be ashamed of himself!”
When the portrait was unveiled in 2019, Boardman posted pictures online and said it was a “great day”.
She wrote: “Please remain respectful – this is about portraiture, not politics.”
The artist’s website states: “Sarah believes that the ultimate challenge is to capture the ‘personality, character and soul’ of an individual in a two-dimensional format.
“She uses a combination of realism and painterly aspects designed to draw the viewer into piece.”
