Quick Hit: President Donald Trump has moved former President Barack Obama’s portrait to a rarely seen area of the White House, CNN reported Sunday, amid renewed scrutiny over Tulsi Gabbard’s claims Obama led a “years- long coup” against him.
Key Details:
CNN reported the portrait now hangs at the top of the Grand Staircase alongside paintings of former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, a spot generally off-limits to public tours. The portrait was previously moved in April to make space for a photo showing the moments after the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Gabbard said on July 23 she had referred Obama to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges over what she called the “manufacturing” of the assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump. Diving Deeper:
President Donald Trump has reportedly relocated the official White House portrait of former President Barack Obama to an area generally inaccessible to the public, according to a CNN report published Sunday. The painting now hangs at the top of the Grand Staircase, flanked by portraits of former Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, well outside the normal route for White House visitors.
This marks the second time Trump has moved the portrait since returning to the Oval Office. In April, it was removed from a prominent display area to make way for a photo capturing the chaotic aftermath of the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The relocation comes as Obama faces heightened scrutiny following explosive allegations from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. On July 18, Gabbard released documents and a memo claiming Obama’s national security team “manufactured and politicized intelligence” as part of what she described as a “years-long coup” aimed at undermining Trump’s presidency after he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Speaking at a July 23 White House press briefing, Gabbard announced she had referred Obama to the Justice Department for possible criminal charges connected to what she called the “Russiagate” hoax. “Barack Obama led the manufacturing of the assessment that Russia interfered with the 2016 election on Donald Trump’s behalf,” she said.
Her allegations echo findings from Special Counsel John Durham’s May 2023 report, which concluded the FBI “did not and could not corroborate” claims from the now-discredited Steele Dossier — a document used to obtain surveillance warrants on Trump associates. In testimony during an October 2022 trial, FBI analyst Brian Auten said the bureau offered dossier author Christopher Steele $1 million to verify its claims, an offer Steele never fulfilled.
The pressure on Obama’s former intelligence chiefs has also intensified. In July, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey to the FBI for allegedly making false statements to Congress, prompting a criminal probe.
Poster Comment:
BURN IT WITH FIRE!