MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson couldn’t hide his glee while sharing President Donald Trump’s childish jab at Barack Obama during a White House visit.
Johnson, 38, visited the White House on Tuesday for St. Patrick’s Day festivities, posting videos on X of himself with his wife—who he called his “Irish girl”—toasting Guinness, and sampling Irish spreads.
In one video, the Trump-obsessed host of The Benny Show beams into the camera and says, “Funniest thing what Trump has done with Barack Obama portrait, check this out.”
He then flips the camera to show the portrait of the 44th president sitting at the top of the Grand Staircase, zooming in and then out to underscore its out-of-the-way placement.
Trump, 79, relocated his predecessor’s portrait last year from its prominent spot at the White House entryway to the landing of the entrance to the private residence, where it’s largely hidden from the thousands of daily visitors who tour the White House.
Access to the area is highly restricted, limited to the first family, U.S. Secret Service agents, and a number of White House staff, according to CNN.
In place of Robert McCurdy’s photorealistic painting of Obama, Trump has hung a painting showing him raising his fist after a bullet grazed his ear in the attempt on his life in July 2024, according to People.
Trump’s relocation of the art breaks White House protocol and tradition in which portraits of the most recent presidents are typically given the most prominent placement near the entrance of the executive mansion, according to CNN.
With President Joe Biden’s official portrait still unfinished, the two presidential portraits on display before Trump’s reshuffling were those of Obama, 64, and his predecessor, President George W. Bush, 79. Bush’s portrait has also been moved out of the public eye.
Trump’s sweeping makeover of the White House is colored by his vindictive streak—most notably his tacky “Presidential Walk of Fame,” which displays framed portraits of every president except Biden, whose image is replaced by an autopen.
The pictures of the presidents are accompanied by plaques that feature a series of insults against Trump’s predecessors. Obama’s plaque describes him as “one of the most divisive political figures in American History.”
“As President, he passed the highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act,” the plaque reads. It also accuses him of presiding over a “stagnant Economy” and the spread of ISIS.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Obama’s office for comment.
