Washington (AFP) – In a break with tradition, the White House of President Donald Trump has removed the portraits of two recent presidents, Bill Clinton and George W Bush, from the building’s entrance hall, CNN reported Friday.
The two paintings were moved from the Grand Foyer, where the portraits of recent presidents usually hang, to the Old Family Dining Room, which CNN described as “a small, rarely used room that is not seen by most visitors.”
It said the room was mainly used to store tablecloths and furniture.
In place of pictures of Trump’s recent predecessors, there now hang pictures of William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901, and of Theodore Roosevelt, his vice president who succeeded him upon his death, sources told CNN.
The news network said that Trump would have seen the two portraits on a daily basis in their previous position.
Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said in his recently published book that Trump “despised” both Bush and Bush’s father.
Hillary Clinton, wife of the former president and former Secretary of State, became an object of Trump’s ire when she ran against him in 2016, and has been a frequent critic of his leadership.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
CNN said the portraits had been moved within the last week.
A portrait of Barack Obama, the president who directly preceded Trump and who has been a frequent subject of his attacks, is not due to be formally unveiled during Trump’s first term, CNN said.
ban-jh/tom