Trump ridicules Obama, Joe Biden adds plaques beneath images of past presidents in White House
US President Donald Trump has stirred controversy after adding blunt and insulting plaques beneath portraits of past American presidents at the White House.
The plaques are part of what Trump calls a “Presidential Walk of Fame,” installed along the colonnade linking the West Wing to the White House residence.
Trump Adds Personal Touch to Presidential History
According to the White House, the plaques offer short descriptions of each former commander-in-chief and the legacy they left behind.
“The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”
An introductory plaque says the display was “conceived, built, and dedicated by President Donald J. Trump as a tribute to past Presidents, good, bad, and somewhere in the middle.”
Biden Labelled “Sleepy Joe” and “Worst President”
Joe Biden received the harshest treatment in the display.
One of his plaques reads: “Sleepy Joe was, by far, the worst President in American History.”
Trump also mocked Biden by replacing his portrait with an autopen, a move widely seen as a jab at Biden’s age and mental fitness.
Biden is the only president in the display without a gilded portrait.
The plaques accuse Biden of coming to power through “the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States” and blame him for inflation, immigration issues, and energy policies.
They also describe the Afghanistan withdrawal as “among the most humiliating events in American History,” referencing the deaths of 13 US service members in 2021.
Attacks on Biden’s Global Leadership
Trump’s plaques go further, linking Biden’s leadership to global crises.
“Seeing Biden’s devastating weakness, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Hamas terrorists launched the heinous October 7th attack on Israel,” one plaque claims.
It also mentions Biden’s poor performance in the 2024 debate, stating he was “forced to withdraw from his campaign for re-election in disgrace.”
Obama Branded “Divisive” in Plaque Text
Barack Obama’s plaque refers to him as “Barack Hussein Obama” and labels him “one of the most divisive figures in American history.”
Trump criticizes Obama’s healthcare reform, calling it the “highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act,” and attacks his foreign policies, including the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The plaque also repeats Trump’s long-standing claim that Obama spied on his 2016 campaign and presided over what it calls the “Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax.”
Trump Praises Himself with Two Plaques
With two terms in office, Trump has two plaques — both filled with praise.
He credits himself with creating “the Greatest Economy in the History of the World” and again describes his 2016 Electoral College win as a “landslide.”
His second-term plaque highlights his popular vote victory and ends with the phrase: “THE BEST IS YET TO COME.”
Mixed Reactions Trail the Display
The unveiling of the plaques quickly sparked reactions.
Former vice president Kamala Harris criticised the move during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I spent so much time in the White House,” Harris said. “The idea that those plaques would have been placed by a president of the United States to talk about former presidents of the United States — the American people deserve better.”
Beyond the plaques, Trump has also redesigned parts of the White House, adding gold decor to the Oval Office and demolishing the East Wing to make way for a large ballroom, further cementing his personal imprint on the historic building.
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