The Six-Foot Portrait of Himself Trump Bought With Charity Money, Revealed
The fabled portrait of Donald Trump that he reportedly used $20,000 in charity money to buy was finally revealed Tuesday.
And it’s very orange.
The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations that Trump may have used Trump Foundation money to buy the picture, obtained a photo which shows the six-foot painting by "speed painter" Michael Israel.
Israel cranked out the portrait in less than six minutes during a 2007 gala at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
It's done in Israel's brash impressionistic style with bold orange colors and Trump's wife Melania bought it afterward with a $10,000 bid that the auctioneer convinced her to double, the paper reported.
Israel, who supplied the photo, got half the proceeds from the auction and the other half was earmarked for the charity that hosted the event, the Children's Place at Home Safe.
"But then Trump paid for this painting with money from the Donald J. Trump Foundation," Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold told MSNBC. "His foundation isn't allowed to just go buy things that are going to decorate the walls of his house, or decorate the walls of his businesses."
What happened to the Trump painting remains something of a mystery.
Fahrenthold, who broke the Trump Foundation story, suspects it may be hanging in a boardroom at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., or at his estate in Seven Springs, N.Y.
The portrait has become a symbol of the questions surrounding the Trump Foundation, which is now being investigated by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly misusing money meant for charity.
Last month Schneiderman issued a "Notice of Violation" letter ordering the foundation to "immediately cease soliciting contributions."
Trump has denied misusing charitable funds and has accused Schneiderman, a Democrat, of playing politics.
Fahrenthold said the bottom line is that Trump has spent a lifetime "trying to make himself seem he is as generous as he is wealthy."