White House officials on Wednesday revised what they call the “Presidential Walk of Fame,” installing plaques beneath portraits of former presidents that reflect Donald Trump’s own views, including branding former president Joe Biden as “the worst president in American history”.
The changes are part of Trump’s broader effort to reshape the White House environment to match his preferences. Along the colonnade, portraits of past presidents now feature expanded text that permanently records Trump’s assessments of their records.
Rather than offering neutral historical summaries, the plaques adopt pointed and opinionated language and read like Trump’s posts on his social network, TruthSocial. Barack Obama is described as “one of the most divisive political figures,” while Ronald Reagan is praised in personal terms, with Trump asserting that Reagan “was a fan”.
Biden’s plaque is among the most scathing. It reads: “Sleepy Joe was, by far, the worst President in American History.” It continues: “Taking office as a result of the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States.”
Obama’s entry is similarly critical, reading: “As President, he passed the highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act, resulting in his party losing control of both Houses of Congress, and the Election of the largest House Republican majority since 1946.”
The description of Bill Clinton minimizes his accomplishments, crediting “Republicans in Congress” for legislative successes during his tenure. It also highlights Trump’s decision to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), which had been enacted under Clinton.
Trump’s rivalry with the Clinton family is explicitly referenced as well. One line on the plaque states: “In 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!”
By contrast, presidents viewed more favorably by Trump receive much warmer treatment. Reagan’s plaque, in particular, is filled with praise: “Known as ‘The Great Communicator,’ he was re-elected in a landslide in 1984, and left office with high approval... He was a fan of President Donald J. Trump long before President Trump’s Historic run for the White House. Likewise, President Trump was a fan of his!”
All of the plaques are part of what the White House now calls its “Wall of Fame”, located outside the West Wing. The display features portraits of every US president arranged in chronological order, with one notable exception. Biden’s portrait has been removed and replaced by an image of an autopen, a reference to Republican allegations that aides frequently used the device on his behalf.
Trump’s “trolling” is nothing new, but it does not appear to be the hit with his base it once was. Trump’s approval rating has slipped to nearly the lowest level of his current term at 39% as voters from his party have soured on his handling of the economy, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Trump’s ridiculing of former presidents comes after he was heavily criticized for his response to the murder of actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele. On social media, Trump claimed Reiner died “due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”.
It also comes during a time when the US is experiencing a healthcare crisis, with subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance (the same program the White House mocks on Obama’s plaque) set to expire at the end of the year, which healthcare policy experts say will have a serious and damaging impact on the entire sector.
