Joe Biden puts Bill Clinton, George W Bush portraits back on display in White House after Trump removed them
The White House has brought back the official portraits of former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush after the previous Donald Trump administration removed them last July and replaced them by those of two Republican presidents who had served the nation more than a century ago. CNN cited an official who said the portraits were back on display in the Grand Foyer of the presidential residence. Tradition calls for keeping portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent places, like at the entrance of the mansion, so that they are visible to guests when official events are held. But the Trump White House moved the portraits of the two former presidents into the Old Family Room, which is rarely used and doesn’t feature in the itinerary of most visitors. Now, with their return, the portraits are most likely to be witnessed by President Joe Biden as he comes down the stairs from his private residence on the third floor. The official of another former president Barack Obama is yet to be unveiled and it is not yet clear when it will be completed and hung, the CNN report added.
That the official portraits were visible in the entrance hallway of the mansion were known when they were visible in a video the White House posted on its social media accounts to observe the Black History Month. “The portraits were returned to their traditional locations in the Cross Hall on Inauguration Day by the Office of the Curator,” the Daily Mail quoted the White House press office as informing.
While the portrait of Clinton was replaced by that of Theodore Roosevelt, that of Bush was replaced by that of William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901 and succeeded by Roosevelt. Trump has shown less affinity towards his recent predecessors compared to the distant ones and objected to moves like removing a statue of Roosevelt from outside the Museum of Natural History in New York or that of Andrew Jackson, one of Trump’s favorite former presidents.
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The return of the portraits signified that as the president, Biden would continue to reverse many of his predecessor’s actions. He has vowed to improve the immigration situation at the borders and took the US back into the Paris climate deal. Trump did not care to honor the tradition of remaining present at the inauguration of his successor on January 20 as he left the White House hours before Biden arrived, thus becoming the first president in more than 150 years to boycott the successor’s swearing-in ceremony. He also did not invite Biden to the White House after the latter won the November presidential election, marking another departure from the tradition.
Last month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was not in a mood to continue with Trump’s legacy of snubbing preceding presidents. The incumbent president did not rule out hosting Trump at the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait, something the Republican had not done when it came to inviting Obama, his predecessor. Biden is likely to invite Obama for the unveiling of his official portrait as well.
Democratic & GOP presidents have maintained tradition over the years
The White House tradition of previous presidents returning to the executive mansion to meet their successors to unveil portraits has been in practice since the 1970s and it usually takes place during an incumbent’s first term.
In 1992, despite losing his re-election bid to Clinton, George H W Bush did not forget to host the latter in the East Room for the portrait unveiling, saying “Welcome home”. Clinton went on to serve two consecutive terms from 1993 to 2001 and was succeeded by George W Bush.
Similarly, Obama, who served between 2009 and 2017, invited Bush (2001-09) in 2012 for the portrait unveiling ceremony and said: “We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences.”