Trump adds partisan plaques to White House Presidential Walk of Fame

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) — US President Donald Trump has added partisan plaques to the White House’s Presidential Walk of Fame, expanding the West Wing display months after its creation and further reshaping how presidential history is presented inside the executive complex.

Newly released photos on Wednesday showed additional plaques installed beneath portraits of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden along the walkway honoring past US leaders.

An introductory plaque states that the Presidential Walk of Fame was “conceived, built, and dedicated by President Donald J. Trump” as a tribute to former presidents described as “good, bad, and somewhere in the middle.”

The plaque beneath Biden’s portrait repeats claims that he assumed office after “the most corrupt election ever” and labels him “by far, the worst president in American history.”

Obama, the country’s first Black president, is described on his plaque as “one of the most divisive political figures in American history.”

The plaque beneath former President George W. Bush’s portrait credits him with establishing the Department of Homeland Security while also stating that he “started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the plaques contain “eloquently written descriptions” of each president, adding that many of the texts were written directly by Trump himself.

Trump first redesigned the colonnade between the West Wing and the White House residence in September, installing gilded portraits of former presidents. Biden was excluded from that display, with his portrait replaced by an autopen — a move that mocked claims he relied on the signature-replicating device.