FOUND: Painting missing from White House turns up at Trump hotel

FOUND: Painting missing from White House turns up at Trump hotel

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador commissioned a painting of Donald Trump from Salvadoran painter Francisco Antonio López Benavides before the 2020 election, only for it to disappear after Trump’s loss, when federal authorities were trying to account for the foreign gifts Trump received while in office.

Now, the painting has been found — stashed in a dusty hall at Trump’s Doral hotel.

There are rules in place for gifts given to U.S. Presidents, helping prevent any appearance of bribery or influence, and these include that a gift valued over a certain dollar amount is deemed a gift to the office, not the occupant.

A president who wants to keep these more valuable gifts after leaving office must pay the appraised value.

In this case, the painting was delivered to a U.S. Embassy in El Salvador in mid-November, after Trump’s election loss, with a stated intent that it would be shipped on to the White House, but it was never reported to the State Department by Team Trump as required under the law.

As the National Archives and Congressional Democrats sought out items removed from the White House improperly, the painting, along with gold golf clubs valued at around $7k, joined a long list of documents and other items deemed missing.

Last year’s search of Trump properties turned up boxes and boxes of memorabilia, but the painting was only found after a guest at one of Trump’s hotels — the Trump National Doral hotel in Miami — recognized it in a news article.

This individual anonymously contacted a reporter, who was able to visit and confirm that the painting was stashed in an odd corner.

The New York Times reported:

“Yes, there it was, next to yoga mats piled up to one side and collecting dust. The purple foam patch the portrait is resting on, ostensibly to protect the gold frame, is starting to show some wear and tear, crumbling a bit onto the floor.”

Just a week ago, House Oversight Democrats released a statement addressing a number of items that Trump and his administration appeared to have failed to report properly, and that are not, as required by law, in the hands of the National Archives.

“Former President Trump and the First Family failed to report more than 100 foreign gifts with a total value of over a quarter of a million dollars…The State Department stated that the Executive Office of the President failed to provide a foreign gift listing for 2020.  The Department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol, which was led by Trump Administration appointees, failed to request a listing prior to the change in administrations,” the Democrats accused Trump.

Other unreported gifts the Committee remarked upon included a $24,000 dagger from Saudi Arabia, which Jared Kushner now possesses (and did pay for), and gifts from India including a model of the Taj Mahal valued at $4,600, and $1,900 cuff links.

The efforts to retrieve documents Trump had stored at Mar-a-Lago eventually led to an FBI-executed search warrant, after numerous written requests for the return of government property failed.

Now, the process begins for the retrieval of this painting to the rightful coffers of the U.S. government.

At least we finally know where it is!

Just look next to the yoga mats at the Doral.

Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.

Stephanie Bazzle

Steph Bazzle is a news writer who covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph. Sign up for all of her stories to be delivered to your inbox here: