Obama Hangs Hillary Clinton Portrait in White House-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
The Obamas hung a Hillary Clinton portrait in the White House with their Christmas decorations after Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election.
The Truth:
A portrait of former First Lady Hillary Clinton hangs in the White House’s — but the Obamas didn’t put it there.
Rather, the portrait was hung in the White House’s Cross Hall on June 14, 2004, while President George W. Bush was in office. A Getty photo of the unveiling ceremony for Bill and Hillary Clinton’s portraits shows that both Bush and First Lady Laura Bush were both in attendance.
Fast forward to 2016, fringe websites began running with false claims that Barack and Michelle Obama hanged Hillary Clinton’s portrait along with the rest of their Christmas decorations. The source of these reports was a tweet from a special projects director of Donald Trump super Pac Citizens 4 Trump:
The tweet is based on a misunderstood blog post about Hillary Clinton’s portrait hanging at the White House that appeared at The Hill:
She didn’t win the election, but Hillary Clinton still has a place at the White House — between two snowmen.
An official portrait of the former first lady and Democratic presidential nominee is hanging in the Cross Hall of the White House, displayed alongside an array of bells, baubles and other holiday décor.
ITK spotted the portrait, one of several paintings of presidents and first ladies adorning the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., when the White House opened its doors Tuesday for a sneak peek of its annual Christmas decorations. The 2003 painting by Simmie Knox shows a smiling Clinton sporting one of her signature pantsuits, standing by a table with her book, “It Takes a Village,” by her side.
The Hill didn’t report that the Obamas hanged Hillary Clinton’s portrait along with Christmas decorations at the White House, but that connection was (falsely) made others after reading the post.