That Painting Of Trump With Lincoln Is A Missouri Original

ST. LOUIS, MO — By now you've certainly seen that painting — recently featured on 60 minutes — that shows Donald Trump, to the chagrin of many Twitter pundits, sipping on Diet Coke alongside other Republican presidents, including Nixon, Lincoln, Reagan and a pair of Bushes — it's called "The Republican Club" and the artist who painted it hails from Missouri.

Carthage, Missouri, to be exact. Artist Andy Thomas, who calls himself a "self-taught cowboy painter" in an online bio, said he's an independent who hopes his politics don't show in his paintings — he's also painted a similar piece featuring Democratic presidents. He's just excited his painting is hanging on the president's wall.

Of course, not everyone feels the same way:

"[Trump is] outside the norm of Republicans and that makes it kind of interesting,” Thomas told TIME Magazine. “Is he going to end up going in history as a great Republican or an abnormality or something? ...We’ll let history decide. Or let the people decide. It’s not up to me.”

Thomas said he researched the painting, right down to the drinks in the hands of the various presidents. Besides Trump's Diet Coke, Bush is enjoying iced tea and Nixon is savoring a fine wine. Reagan? He's sipping something fruity.

"This is mostly researched off the internet," Thomas told the Washington Post. "I really don't know."

Hidden in the back of the painting is something else that has caught people's attention — the shadowy figure of a woman. That's the first female president, Thomas says, coming to take her seat at the table, and she's also featured in the painting's Democratic counterpart. Some have called it a subtle feminist message, but Thomas told CNN that he just sees it as inevitable.

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Thomas said he tried to flatter the president in his artwork, giving him a gracious smile that Trump doesn't often wear in real life and shaving off a few pounds. It seems to have paid off. He recently received a call from the president thanking him for the painting, which is reportedly a favorite.

"'He basically said, ‘most portraits of me I really don’t like,'" Thomas told Time. "And he’s right. He’s hard to paint."

According to Thomas, Trump even tried to solicit advice on the Missouri Senate race during the call. "I’m a damn artist, what is he asking me about this for?" Thomas recalled thinking.

Image via Shutterstock