White House Unveils Controversial Plaques, Re‑Framing Presidential Legacies

On December 17, 2025, the White House unveiled a series of controversial plaques on its colonnade that reframe the legacies of past presidents.

Plaques on the Presidential Walk of Fame

The new plaques were hung below presidential portraits that have been displayed on President Trump’s recently added “Presidential Walk of Fame” in the White House colonnade. The plaques contain derisive statements and promote disinformation about the administrations of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

Derisive Statements Targeting Biden and Obama

Under the portrait of the “Autopen,” which stands in for President Joe Biden’s portrait, a plaque refers to him as “Sleepy Joe Biden” and calls him “the worst President in American History.” The plaque lists claims of a “severe mental decline,” the “Biden Crime Family,” and “Radical Left handlers.” It also says Biden took office as a result of the most corrupt election ever seen in the United States and oversaw a series of unprecedented disasters that brought the nation to the brink of destruction. The plaque denounces the Inflation Reduction Act as the “Green New Scam,” blames his administration for inflation, and accuses him of a disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal that left 13 U.S. service members dead. It further links Biden’s weakness to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel, and cites his humiliating debate loss to President Trump in June 2024 as the reason he withdrew from his re‑election campaign.

A plaque beneath President Barack Obama’s portrait calls him “Barack Hussein Obama” and labels him “one of the most divisive figures in American history.” It accuses him of creating Obamacare, the “Unaffordable Care Act,” presiding over a stagnant economy, approving the Iran Nuclear Deal, signing the Paris Climate Accords (both later terminated by Trump), and spying on Trump’s 2016 campaign. The plaque repeats Trump’s conspiracy theory that Obama created the “Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax,” calling it the worst political scandal in American history.

The plaque for former President Bill Clinton ends with the fact that Trump beat Clinton’s wife, Hillary, in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump’s Own Plaques Praise His Presidency

Two plaques summarize President Trump’s time in office. The first, covering his first four years, lists achievements such as signing the largest tax cuts in history, building a booming economy, eliminating a record number of federal regulations, rebuilding the U.S. military, terminating the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Accords, ending the NAFTA disaster, destroying the ISIS Caliphate, signing the Abraham Accords, and creating the greatest economy in the world. The second plaque, describing his second term, boasts sweeping tariffs, hard‑line immigration policies, the removal of Critical Race Theory and transgender content from public schools, bans on men in women’s sports, the construction of the Golden Dome missile defense shield, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the building of a Trump Presidential Ballroom after a 225‑year wait, with a promise that “THE BEST IS YET TO COME.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that Trump wrote the text of many of the plaques. “The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind,” she said. “As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”

Reactions from Capitol Hill

The new plaques drew mixed reactions from Republicans on Capitol Hill. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who often bucks her party, told NBC News, “I’m really disturbed by that.” She added that the plaques re‑define the contributions of presidents and that it is inappropriate for Trump to do so. Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said the plaques were not a concern, adding, “I don’t think that’s going to move the ball for us. There may be some amusement there,” before pivoting to the 2026 midterm elections and emphasizing the need to focus on fixing people’s problems.

Kelly O’Donnell, Monica Alba and Frank Thorp V contributed to the reporting.

Funding and Installation Questions

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how the plaques were paid for, whether government funds were used, or whether they were installed by government employees.

Future of the White House Ballroom

President Donald Trump shared new images of the planned White House ballroom, which is expected to serve as a venue for official events.

Key Takeaways

• The White House installed plaques on its colonnade that criticize Biden and Obama while praising Trump.
• The plaques contain claims about mental decline, corruption, and various policy failures for Biden and Obama.
• Trump’s plaques highlight tax cuts, economic growth, military rebuilding, and other achievements, while critics on Capitol Hill express concern.

The installation of the plaques has sparked debate over how presidential legacies are portrayed and whether such displays should be allowed on the White House grounds.