Former Int. Sec. Ryan Zinke Is Both Musclebound Swamp Drainer, Gentle Horseback Rider In New Portraits
Politics

Remember Ryan Zinke? You know, President Trump’s former Secretary of the Interior. The guy who advocated drilling in all American waterways, compared Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, enjoyed extravagant holidays instead of working, called himself a geologist even though he wasn’t a geologist, and wrote his resignation letter in thick red marker, rendering it absolutely illegible? Yeah, him. Well, apparently he’s had some portraits done commemorating his short tenure in the Trump administration, and they’re absolutely ridiculous.
On Tuesday, Zinke, his wife, and their many admirers gathered—indoors, largely unmasked despite rising covid-19 numbers—for the unveiling of his official portrait. It depicts a rugged Zinke riding a horse during a 2017 visit to Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.
Bears Ears sits on Indigenous land and was designated as a national monument by President Obama in 2016. It’s worth noting that during his tenure, Zinke considered reducing the size of the 1.35 million acres national monument or reversing its protected status entirely. (This was met with protest during his 2017 visit. In response, Zinke wagged a finger in the face of Native American activist Cassandra Begay and told her to “be nice.”)