What you need to know
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery is displaying a new portrait of President Donald Trump in its “America’s Presidents” exhibit, along with a new caption that omits references to his impeachment and the January 6 riot.
On Saturday, January 10, the official White House X account shared a photo of a new portrait on display at the museum.
According to the Washington Post, the black-and-white photo was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok. It shows the 79-year-old Trump standing resolutely behind a desk, looking directly into the camera.
A previous portrait of Trump, taken by Washington Post photojournalist Matt McClain, showed Trump with his hands clasped together. It was accompanied by a lengthy caption explaining his first term and subsequent re-election.
“He was impeached twice on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, but was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions,” the caption reads, according to the Washington Post. The new caption simply notes the number of years Trump has been in office.
The new photo’s caption contrasts with museum portraits of other former presidents, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Each president’s portrait is accompanied by a placard that describes events during his or her time in office, such as Clinton’s impeachment.
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Concetta Duncan, a spokeswoman for the National Portrait Gallery, told The Washington Post that the museum is “considering” less descriptive “headstone labels” for some new exhibits and exhibits. She also said that the portraits of President Trump in the “American Presidents” exhibit are different than before.
The National Portrait Gallery did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment outside of business hours on Saturday, January 10th.
According to the Washington Post, a senior Trump official specifically complained about this passage months ago, when the president was trying to force out Kim Saget, then-director of the National Portrait Gallery.
In June, President Trump called Saget “very partisan” and forced him to resign. Shortly after, the White House threatened to withhold funding to the Smithsonian Institution unless it cooperated with the Trump administration’s decision to review its contents as “inappropriate ideology.”
Kevin Carter/Getty
This is not the first time the Smithsonian has removed or altered material that references President Trump’s two impeachments.
In July, temporary placards were removed from the “American Presidency: The Burden of Glory” exhibit at the National Museum of American History. The exhibit includes a small section on formally impeached or potentially impeached U.S. presidents, including Clinton, Andrew Jackson, and Richard Nixon.
Since September 2021, the exhibit has featured temporary labels about Trump’s two impeachments and a notice to visitors that reads, “History Happens.”
The Washington Post reported that the label was removed in July 2025 “as part of a review the Smithsonian Institution agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove the museum director.” The exhibit went back to suggesting that “only three presidents have seriously faced removal from office,” without mentioning Trump.
A spokesperson for the Smithsonian Institution told the outlet that Trump’s label was only intended as a “short-term addition to address current events.”
