A Virginia sketch artist who attended former President Donald Trump’s arraignment on Tuesday responded to criticism he had portrayed Trump as being too young and physically fit.
William J. Hennessy Jr., 65, told the Boston Globe he does not “editorialize,” and that his intention was not to make the former president look good in the sketches.
“I don’t editorialize,” Hennessy told the outlet. “I just draw what I see.”
Hennessy, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, was one of three sketch artists who attended Trump’s arraignment in a federal court in Miami. The former president has been charged with 37 federal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, providing false statements, and for the mishandling of classified documents, according to Politico.
Hennessy’s sketch of Trump came under fire from users on Twitter who claimed the sketches of Trump did not portray the 77-year-old as being accurate to who he was today.
One user asked if the sketch of Trump was Hennessy’s way of auditioning to do “Trumps official Whitehouse portrait.”
Is this William J Hennessy Jr's audition to do Trumps official Whitehouse portrait? pic.twitter.com/DryAGl2CB7
— Col Smith (@Dangerman_2) June 15, 2023
Another user admitted the sketch of Trump looked similar to one of the former president from about “40 years ago,” and suggested Hennessy had gone off of that photo.
Tbh it’s not that it’s wildly inaccurate, it just looks like the sketch artist Bill Hennessy was going off of a photo of Trump from 40 years ago pic.twitter.com/5yYLfsHbsD
— i’m @davejorgenson on bluesky (not @jdvance) (@davejorgenson) June 14, 2023
Trump was described by another user as looking “kingly” in Hennessy’s sketch of him during the arraignment.
https://twitter.com/remnantposting/status/1668760506310754304
“It’s rare I get any kind of feedback,” Hennessy said in response to the comments on his sketch, adding that the comments were mixed. “Some said he looked too thin, too young, and some said he looked too good.”
Hennessy has sketched a wide variety of court cases, including that of the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton and the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial.
One user even compared the sketch of Trump to a recent photo of his youngest son, Barron Trump.
That last sketch of Trump looks almost exactly like the recent photo of his son Barron.
— Beki Knott
Wonder if it was done on purpose? pic.twitter.com/kVQnTvZJVJ🦅
(@lotsofuss) June 18, 2023
“That last sketch of Trump looks almost exactly like the recent photo of his son Barron,” the user wrote. “Wonder if it was done on purpose?”
