The White House moves portraits of the portraits of Bill Clinton and George Bush from their prominent position in the lobby to a room used for storage
- The White House has moved the official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to a room where both Trump and visitors will not see them.
- The portraits were hanging in the Great Hall of the White House until last week.
- They have been moved to the old family dining room, a small and little used room.
- Tradition holds that the portraits of those who were most recently president are hung prominently
- The portraits have been replaced by Republican Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, Republican Presidents who served in 1897 and 1901.
The White House suddenly moved two portraits of President Donald Trump’s predecessors from their prominent positions in the entrance hall to the home.
The official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have been removed and replaced in recent days.
In the past, photos of the most recent occupants of the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have been given pride of place and hung in the Great Hall of the White House.
The White House has moved the official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to a room where President Trump and visitors will not see them.
A portrait of the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, is seen hanging in the Great Hall of the White House. Photographed here in December 2014
The images were last seen during a press conference on July 8 when the Mexican president came to visit us. The portrait of former President Bill Clinton can be seen here
Portrait of Bill Clinton in the entrance hall of the White House in Washington, DC
According to CNN, it is a tradition that the last ones who were in the Oval Office placed themselves closer to the entrance to the house, in full view of all who visit it.
The places occupied by Bush and Clinton were occupied by two portraits of Republican presidents who served for more than 100 years.
The pair of presidential paintings moved to the old family dining room, a small room across from the large state dining room, which is used to store unused tablecloths and furniture.
The room is so insignificant that it was not part of any public tour of the residence that was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
The portraits have now been moved to the Family Dining Room, viewed in a circle, top left. The room is rarely used and are not toured by the White House. It has recently been used for storage
A long-standing tradition has been observed for decades in which the current White House residence honors its predecessor by presenting its portrait. In the photo, Obama received former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in 2012.
The portraits of Bush and Clinton were last seen earlier this month during a recent engagement when President Trump welcomed Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The two stood in the Cross Hall area of the house and made respective comments on the portraits that could be seen looking.
The paintings would also have been visible to Trump every day as he descended the stairs from his private residence.
The portrait of Bush has been replaced by the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, while the portrait of Clinton has been replaced by Theodore Roosevelt, who served after McKinley.
In May, it was revealed that the presidential and first lady portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama will not be released and hung in the White House until Donald Trump is in office.
The long tradition of current presidents attending the presentation ceremony for the portraits of their predecessors and their wives during their first term will be omitted during this presidency due to a bitter dispute between Trump and Obama.
Donald Trump and Barack Obama have no interest in participating in the long tradition of previous presidents returning to meet the current president in a ceremony to unveil their presidential portraits.
If Trump wins a second term in November, it means Obama will have to wait until 2025 for his portrait to be revealed and displayed at the White House among all the presidents of the United States before him.
The tradition of past presidents who returned to the White House to meet their successor to reveal their portraits seems to date back to the 1970s.
Jimmy Carter welcomed Gerald Ford and his wife Betty to the White House just four years after Carter had defeated Ford in his reelection bid for the first formal East Room ceremony in 1980.
And after George HW Bush lost reelection, Bill Clinton still greeted Bush in the East Room, saying ‘Welcome home.’
“We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences,” Obama said when he received former President George W. Bush for his portrait presented in 2012.
After George HW Bush lost his reelection bid, Bill Clinton greeted him and his wife in the East Room, saying ‘Welcome Home’ at the presentation of his portrait. Photographed in July 1995
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