Portland, Ore., bar removes painting comparing Trump to Hitler

Matthew Abelman, who is Jewish, said he heard complaints that his painting was "insensitive to the Jewish plight."

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(JTA) — A bar in Portland, Oregon, removed a painting of Adolf Hitler wearing a hat with Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

The Portland artist, Matthew Abelman, who is Jewish, said the painting, “Hat Sales Are Up Again,” was satirical in intent.

“I saw a great number of parallels ideologically between fascism of the ’30s in Europe and the movement gathering to a roar right now,” Abelman said of the painting, which was part of an exhibit mounted on Aug. 5.

The bar, Night Light Lounge, took it down shortly after it was displayed, reported KATU 2, an ABC affiliate.

“We got a couple comments that that imagery, nothing about the political stance of the piece, just that imagery is a little hard to look at when you’re trying to hang out with friends and have a good time,” Christopher Gutierrez, the bar owner, told the TV station in a news segment broadcast Monday.

Abelman said Facebook posters commented that the painting was “insensitive to the Jewish plight, which is funny because I myself am Jewish.”

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