US President Donald Trump has installed new plaques beneath portraits of all former presidents at the White House, using them to deride predecessors such as Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
The additions, first seen publicly Wednesday, were “eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind,” Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, said.
“As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”
The exhibit was called the presidential walk of fame.
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Biden was described as “sleepy”, Obama as “divisive” and Ronald Reagan as a fan of a young Trump.
The writings bore sporadic capitalisations and punctuation including many exclamation points — stylistically similar to many of Trump’s Truth Social posts.
Here is a look at how Trump spoke of some of his predecessors.
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BIDEN
“Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American History,” the plaque said.
Biden was described as overseeing “the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States: who oversaw a series of “unprecedented disasters” that brought the US to the brink of destruction.
“Nicknamed both ‘Sleepy’ and ‘Crooked’, Joe Biden was dominated by his Radical Left handlers,” the plaque added.
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Trump also taunted the former president with his feeble performance in the 2024 presidential debate ahead of the election, calling it a disgrace.
Biden was the only former president whose portrait was replaced with the photo of an autopen, a choice that echoed Trump’s long-running claims that many of Biden’s executive actions were legally invalid because they were signed with an autopen.
OBAMA
Despite having the highest favourability rating among all living US presidents, Obama’s plaque also stood out, carrying a pointed message that contrasted sharply with his public standing.
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“Barack Hussein Obama was the first Black President, a community organizer, one term Senator from Illinois, and one of the most divisive political figures in American History,” the plaque reads.
“He presided over a stagnant Economy, approved the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, and signed the one-sided Paris Climate Accords, both of which were later terminated by President Donald J. Trump.”
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RONALD REAGAN
Reagan received warmer treatment over his peers and was decorated as “The Great Communicator”.
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He was president from 1981 to 1989, a time when Trump was a prominent young real estate developer and celebrity in New York City.
Reagan’s plaque said “he was a fan of President Donald J. Trump before President Trump’s historic run for the White House. Likewise, President Trump was a fan of his!”
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GEORGE BUSH
Bush won approval for creating the Department of Homeland Security and leading the nation after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and launching the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
But the praise was short-lived after Trump accused him of starting “wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened”.
BILL CLINTON
Clinton’s plaque brushed aside some of the former president’s achievements, crediting “Republicans in Congress” for the tech boom of the late 1990s which resulted in excellent economic growth instead.
Trump’s rivalry with the Clinton family was also referenced.
“In 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!” the plaque noted.
…AND TRUMP
Trump had two displays, each for his two presidencies.
Both plaques glowed with praises for his administration and lauded him for creating “the Greatest Economy in the History of the World”.
The text said Trump’s comeback to the White House was possible because he overcame the “unprecedented Weaponization of Law Enforcement against him, as well as two assassination attempts”.
It also re-echoed claims of ending wars, securing US borders, and deporting alleged gang members.
“THE BEST IS YET TO COME,” the plaque concluded.
A plaque at the front of the exhibit said the idea was “conceived, built, and dedicated” by Trump “as a tribute to past Presidents, good, bad and somewhere in the middle”.
