Donald Trump’s administration has installed new plaques beneath portraits of former US presidents inside the White House, openly attacking several of his predecessors in language consistent with Trump’s long-standing political rhetoric.
The plaques are part of a newly created “Presidential Walk of Fame,” a corridor display between the Oval Office and the South Lawn. According to the White House, several of the inscriptions were written directly by Trump.
One plaque beneath Joe Biden’s portrait reads: “Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst president in American history.” Biden’s image has been replaced entirely with a photograph of an autopen, reflecting Trump’s repeated claim that Biden lacked mental capacity toward the end of his presidency and that staff used an autopen to sign documents without his knowledge. The plaque also falsely accuses Biden of winning “the most corrupt election ever” and making “unprecedented use of the autopen.”
Another plaque describes Barack Obama as “one of the most divisive political figures in American history” and refers to him as “Barack Hussein Obama.” Bill Clinton’s plaque references Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election loss to Trump. George W. Bush, despite being a Republican, is criticised for starting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which the plaque claims “should not have happened.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the display, calling the plaques an “eloquent” summary of each president’s legacy and describing Trump as a “student of history.”
The plaques are part of broader aesthetic changes to the White House under Trump, including expanded use of gold-coloured decor resembling Trump Tower in New York and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
