A rumor that U.S. President Donald Trump removed a White House portrait of former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and replaced it with a portrait of himself circulated across the internet in mid-June 2025.
The rumor gained traction following an X post (archived)
Posts on Facebook (archived) and more posts on X (archived, archived) shared Mason's photo with the added claim that Trump had removed a portrait of Hillary Clinton and replaced it with his own:
Though this particular portrait of Donald Trump was indeed on display in that exact spot in the White House as of this writing, its placement there predated the removal of Hillary Clinton's portrait. Therefore, we have rated this claim as false.
While we could not confirm the date the Trump portrait was originally hung in the East Wing, evidence shows the portrait of Clinton was still in place for a time after Trump's portrait was added.
On May 21, 2025, Reuters posted an image of Trump's portrait hanging next to Clinton's. Further, Arizona Sen. Janae Shamp posted a picture of herself on X (archived) the following day standing next to Trump's portrait with Clinton's in plain view next to it.
Today was such a great day! My first time in the White House was incredible! 122 days in and The MAHA Report is out. Promises made, promises kept! pic.twitter.com/fwmikNMA2i
— AZSenatorShamp (@AZSenatorShamp) May 23, 2025
On June 18, 2025, the same date as Mason's post, a photo was posted to image database Getty Images that clearly showed Clinton's portrait had been removed. The Getty photo featured a caption that read, "A portrait of President Donald Trump with a U.S. flag on his face is hung between portraits of former first ladies Laura Bush and Patricia Nixon in the East Wing's Visitor Foyer on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC."
However, the claim that Trump's portrait replaced Clinton's is inaccurate. Instead, a portrait of former first lady Pat Nixon was put in Clinton's place. Comparing the Getty photo with Sen. Shamp's photo, it's clear the placement, length and design of the benches beneath the portraits match.
Further, the true reason behind Clinton's portrait removal is that it is currently on loan to the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, for an exhibit called "Portraits from a Presidency."
According to the museum's website, the exhibit runs until Dec. 7, 2025, and features "two- and three-dimensional portraits of the Clinton family members, including more than 50 paintings, sculptures, engravings, and photographs."
The Clinton Presidential Center's website addressed Clinton's White House portrait specifically, stating, "The exhibit also features the official White House portraits of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, on loan from the White House Historical Association/White House Collection. The Clintons selected artist Simmie Knox to paint their portraits. He was the first African American to receive a presidential portrait commission."
Snopes corroborated the portraits being on loan to the museum with the White House press office via email.
"Portraits from a Presidency" opened on June 14, 2025, matching the timeline in which images emerged of Trump's portrait between former first ladies Laura Bush and Pat Nixon, helping to spark the rumor in question.