Barack Obama’s official White House photographer has hit out at Donald Trump’s decision to “hide” the portrait of the former president, questioning whether the motives for the shake-up were “petty or racist.”
Pete Souza, who served under Obama and former president Ronald Reagan, said that breaking a longstanding tradition of where presidential portraits are hung was “pretty petty,” and suggested that Obama lived in the president’s head “rent free.”
It comes after reports at the weekend that White House staff had moved the portraits of three former presidents — including Obama — to a staircase where visitors now cannot see them.
Obama’s portrait was moved to the top of the Grand Staircase, an area that is restricted to the president’s family, Secret Service and select staff, according to CNN.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, Souza shared a photo of Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama descending the staircase, with portraits of presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman visible in the background
“Petty or racist?” he began his caption.
Souza went on to describe the ”longstanding protocol/tradition” of where the portraits of former Presidents are hung.
The most recent ones, he said, are displayed in the Grand Foyer, then the Cross Hall, then the Grand Staircase, in that order. The order is such that visitors during the White House public tours can see the most recent Presidents.
Other portraits, like Lincoln and Washington, are displayed prominently in the State Dining Room and East Room.
Souza also noted that, in keeping with this, during the Obama administration the portraits of presidents Bush and Clinton hung in the Grand Foyer, while portraits of presidents Reagan, Carter, Ford and Kennedy were hung along the Cross Hall.
“According to CNN, the current occupant of the Oval Office has moved the portrait of President Obama from the Grand Foyer (where it should be) to that hidden area at the top of the Grand Staircase,” he wrote.
“Why was this done? Was it because President Obama lives rent free in the current occupant’s head? I’d say that’s pretty petty. Or could there be another reason?”
As well as his role as White House photographer for Reagan and Obama, Souza worked nine years for the Chicago Tribune’s Washington, D.C. bureau and as a freelancer for National Geographic and Life magazines.
He has also earned widespread recognition for several famous photos, including the May 1, 2011 scene in the Situation Room where Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other officials watched updates on the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden.
Trump’s decision to move the portrait of Obama comes as tensions rise between the two men, with Trump baselessly accusing Obama of “treason” and posting AI-generated fake videos depicting Obama’s arrest.
Obama has called the claims he orchestrated an attempted “coup” against Trump as “outrageous” and branded it an “attempt at distraction” by Trump amid his failure to release the controversial Epstein files.
