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Funny that they are afraid of offending people yet quote Bill Cosby on the wall above the quilt exhibit in the article photo.

Indeed, ironic!

However, I agree with most the criticisms of the work in question, regardless of politics — (“too big”, “too political”, “too pro-Trump” and finally "no good.")

1. “too big” — If you've been to the NPG, few of its paintings are that large, except possibly those of some of the former presidents, and I would include the Obama portrait as being that large -- however, he actually is a former president, for better or worse.
2. “too political” — this is very badly worded, if the rejection was indeed in "good faith" on artistic rather than political grounds, since the painting was submitted for consideration for "an exhibit on American political art." The NPG may have lost their case based on this wording. Best case, the Portrait Gallery was trying to say it looked like rapidly-painted illustration for throw-away campaign brochures and not a fine art portrait.
3. “too pro-Trump” — This statement must be taken in context, since it was said in 2015, when many Americans were unconvinced that Donald Trump would be able to go the distance as a candidate or a president. Hanging a painting that large would indeed have looked like a campaign endorsement that would have dwarfed most of the other works in the exhibit, when in fact Trump wasn't elected yet, or possibly not even nominated yet.
4. "no good" — this is a harshly-worded assessment of the quality of the artistry. I must agree that the draftsmanship is inconsistent within the painting, with fine detail on the eagle, flag and world eclipse, but Trump's face flat and out of focus, contrasted with overly rigid edges on the hair, cheek and nose, and the lack of subtlety in the facial modeling. It looks more like "velvet Elvis" or airbrush auto detailing than fine art, or even great graphic art.

Had the Gallery director's comments been more tactful, they might have avoided this lawsuit. The artist may have accurately sensed that the comments were cutting precisely because of a political disagreement; but that doesn't make them wrong about the art — just rudely expressed.

As much as I support President Trump (very, very much), I hate to see this lawsuit succeed. You can't sue your way to undeniable excellence. Rejection is part of the art world, and often there are completely subjective tastes or preferences involved — that's just the way it is. When I was entering work in competitions, more than once I had a piece rejected from one competition, yet win an award in a different competition. Tastes vary widely.