‘Sleepy Joe’, ‘Divisive Obama’: Trump hangs critical plaques at White House

Trump installs controversial plaques criticising Biden, Obama at White House

US President Donald Trump has sparked fresh controversy after installing bronze plaques beneath portraits of former presidents at the White House that criticise and make sweeping claims about several of his predecessors, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

The plaques are part of a new display that Trump has named the “Presidential Walk of Fame”, a portrait gallery along the West Wing Colonnade. According to ABC News, the White House said many of the plaques were written by Trump himself.

Unlike traditional historical descriptions, the texts use overtly political and opinionated language, closely resembling Trump’s social media style, complete with irregular capitalisation and emphatic punctuation.

One of the most sharply worded plaques targets former President Joe Biden. Instead of a conventional portrait, Biden is represented only by his signature, which the plaque claims was produced using a presidential autopen.

The text states, “Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American History,” and alleges that he took office “as a result of the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States”. It further claims that Biden “oversaw a series of unprecedented disasters that brought our Nation to the brink of destruction”.

The Biden plaque also criticises his handling of the economy, immigration, climate policy and foreign affairs. It describes the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as “among the most humiliating events in American History” and claims that Biden’s “weakness” led to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that “Hamas terrorists launched the heinous October 7th attack on Israel”. It also refers to what Trump calls Biden’s “severe mental decline, and his unprecedented use of the Autopen”.

Barack Obama’s plaque similarly contains strong accusations. It describes him as “the first Black President, a community organiser, one term Senator from Illinois, and one of the most divisive political figures in American History”. It goes on to claim that Obama “spied on the 2016 Presidential Campaign of Donald J Trump, and presided over the creation of the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, the worst political scandal in American History”.

The plaques also repeatedly reference Hillary Clinton. Under Obama’s portrait, she is described as his “handpicked successor” who “would then lose the Presidency to Donald J Trump”. A similar line appears beneath former president Bill Clinton’s portrait, stating that “President Clinton’s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J Trump”.

Not all former presidents are criticised. Ronald Reagan’s plaque is notably complimentary, calling him “The Great Communicator” and noting that he “was a fan of President Donald J. Trump long before President Trump’s historic run for the White House”.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the plaques, saying, “The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”

The new plaques are part of broader changes Trump has made to the White House since returning to office. These include paving over the Rose Garden, renovating the Palm Room, redesigning the Oval Office with extensive gold detailing, adding statues around the complex, and demolishing the East Wing to make way for a large ballroom that Trump has said will be completed before the end of his term.