John Jefferson
UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Shortly after speed-painting a portrait of former President Trump in just over 3 minutes at a New York campaign rally Wednesday, a Staten Island artist followed up with a 31-second pitch to critics of the Republican candidate.
Scott LoBaido, the 59-year-old self-titled Patriot Artist, told Fox News Digital it was “an honor” to share his work on stage at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on behalf of the man he described as “the greatest president since George Washington.”
But he also acknowledged he’s received criticism for his conservative views from the art world – and then delivered a quick counterpoint.
‘TRUMP 2O24!’: YOUNG SUPPORTER WITH RARE BRAIN DISORDER BEAMS AFTER SURPRISE MEETING WITH FORMER PRESIDENT
“Your house is burning down, your children on the second floor, flames shooting off the back, screaming out the window. The guy across the street is a fireman, but you don’t like his hairdo. You don’t like his tan. You don’t like what he tweets. That guy is going to come in and save your house from burning and save your children. Do you give a crap about his hair, his mean tweets or the tan that he has?”
“I don’t think so. That’s what people need to think about,” he added.
WATCH: ‘Patriot Artist’ Scott LoBaido speed paints Trump portrait for rally crowd
LoBaido, known predominantly for his paintings of American flags in addition to political activism, told Fox News Digital that while he feels alienated by the mainstream art community, he hopes to bring Trump critics into the fold with his work.
“I specifically want to reach out to the people on the other side who hate Donald Trump, people that hate him for the stupidest reasons,” LoBaido said.
CONSERVATIVE ARTIST HANDCUFFED DURING PIZZA-TOSSING PROTEST OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY HALL
Wednesday’s Trump rally in Nassau County, a red-leaning suburb just east of New York City, was the former president’s first since a second failed attempt on his life over the weekend.
Trump praised the unnamed Secret Service agent who opened fire on an armed man within several hundred yards of Trump at a Florida golf course Sunday and vowed to be the first GOP presidential candidate to win New York in decades, prompting a raucous cheer from the crowd of about 18,000.
WATCH: Speed painting artist whips up elevator pitch for Trump critics
Trump also surprised a young supporter with an in-person meeting and birthday present.
Eight-year-old Liam suffers from agenesis of the corpus callosum, or ACC, a rare and incurable disorder where a child is born missing part of their brain that connects the left and right hemispheres. His parents told Fox News Digital it was his dream to meet the former president.
Trump brought him backstage and gave him a shoutout during the rally.
Read the full article here