Trump painting counted among White House missing gifts found in Miami 'electrical room'
by Brady Knox, Breaking News Reporter |
March 24, 2023 03:48 PM
A missing painting of former President Donald Trump was found outside an electrical room in a Trump Hotel in Miami.
The painting was one of 100 gifts from foreign governments that went missing at the end of Trump's presidency, according to a report from Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
Standing over 8 feet tall, the painting was found tucked away at the hotel thanks to an anonymous tip to the New York Times, which had just done a profile on its artist. The portrait was a gift from Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele to Trump during his last year in office.
The tip was from a man and his son who had gone snooping around the property out of curiosity roughly five months ago. The outlet reported that it remained in good condition, though the purple yoga mat it is sat on appears to be rotting away.
“I‘m going to tell you what my heart feels as an artist,” artist Francisco Antonio Lopez Benavides told the outlet when asked how he felt about the finding and odd location of his art.
“I am happy that the painting is intact, it is beautiful, precious,” he said. It “is my greatest wish that everything will be better in the world and that this painting will be with President Trump, because it is a gift from my president, Nayib Bukele, and I am a part of it. We are all President Trump and President Bukele.”
Between 2017 and 2019, the Trump administration reported 76 foreign gifts received by Trump, 41 by the first lady, 15 by former senior adviser Jared Kushner, and 12 by Ivanka Trump. However, the administration hadn't reported any gifts given during Donald Trump's last full year in office. Democrats are demanding that the gifts be located and returned in accordance with the law. Any gifts Trump wants to keep must be paid for at their appraised value.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/trump-painting-found-electrical-room-miami
