No shoes, no tie: Bush portrait is unveiled
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."I suspected there would be a good-sized crowd, once word got out about my hanging," George Bush joked yesterday at the unveiling of his official portrait in Washington.
His presidency may go down in history as one of the worst but at least there were no outraged shoe-throwers. There were a few raised eyebrows, however, at the first portrait of a tie-less President to hang in the National Gallery.
The paintings of the most admired presidents are hung in the White House. It's now a racing certainty that George Bush's official portrait will not be gracing those walls for some time.
It will be difficult to forget some other images, such as his appearance in a flight suit under the banner "mission accomplished" after invading Iraq, or the televised images of him being attacked with a pair of shoes in Baghdad. He did admit he is heading out on a low. But looking to history, he reminded his audience that the first and last portraits in the gallery were of a George W.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments