Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment text as it swaps his portrait

Source: Washington Post

January 10, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. EST



Visitors view an updated portrait of President Donald Trump, with abridged text adjoining it, on Saturday at the National Portrait Gallery in D.C. (Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post)


The National Portrait Gallery removed a swath of text that mentioned President Donald Trump's two impeachments and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as it swapped out a prominent photo of him this week.

Trump and the White House posted on social media Friday and Saturday to highlight the updated portrait in the "America's Presidents" exhibition, which now features a framed black-and-white photo by White House photographer Daniel Torok. It shows Trump staring intensely, with his fists on the Resolute Desk -- an image the president first shared on his Truth Social account last year.

It replaced a photo by Washington Post photojournalist Matt McClain, which showed Trump with his hands folded in front of him, and was accompanied by a longer caption recounting Trump's first term and his reelection. "Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials," it read, in part. A Trump official specifically complained about that passage months earlier, when the president was trying to force out the portrait gallery's director.

The placard has been replaced with one whose caption is so short that the outline of the old sign was visible on the wall beneath it, simply noting Trump's years in office. It now contrasts with portraits of other former presidents, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, which all hang alongside wall text highlighting events during their time in office. Clinton's notes his impeachment.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/art/2026/01/10/national-portrait-gallery-trump-photo/