On Dec. 17, 2025, the White House unveiled a series of exterior plaques that lambaste former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, while lauding Donald Trump’s own record.
Plaques on the Presidential Walk of Fame
The new plaques hang below presidential portraits on the White House colonnade’s “Presidential Walk of Fame.” One beneath the “Autopen” portrait that represents Biden reads, “Sleepy Joe Biden” and calls him “the worst President in American History.” The plaque lists claims of Biden’s “severe mental decline,” a “Biden Crime Family,” and “Radical Left handlers.”
Disinformation and Derision
A plaque in the Biden space asserts that he entered office as a result of “the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States,” accuses him of overseeing “a series of unprecedented disasters that brought our Nation to the brink of destruction,” and labels the Inflation Reduction Act a “Green New Scam.” It blames Biden for the Afghanistan withdrawal, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and cites his 2024 debate loss to Trump as the reason he “withdraw[ed] from his campaign for re‑election in disgrace.”
The Obama plaque calls him “Barack Hussein Obama,” describes him as “one of the most divisive figures in American history,” and repeats Trump’s conspiracy theory that Obama “spied” on the 2016 campaign. It also claims Obama approved the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Paris Climate Accords, and created the “Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax.”
Trump’s Praise for Himself
Two plaques honor Trump’s own presidency. The first four‑year plaque lists “the Largest Tax Cuts in History,” a “booming Economy,” elimination of federal regulations, rebuilding the military, termination of the Iran Nuclear Deal and Paris Accords, ending NAFTA, destroying ISIS, signing the Abraham Accords, and creating “the Greatest Economy in the History of the World.” The second‑term plaque boasts sweeping tariffs, hard‑line immigration policies, removal of “Critical Race Theory and transgender insanity from public schools,” a ban on men in women’s sports, construction of the Golden Dome missile defense shield, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the building of a “Trump Presidential Ballroom.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC News that Trump wrote the text of “many” of the plaques. She added, “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.”
Congressional Reactions
Reactions from Capitol Hill were mixed. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she was “really disturbed” and warned that Trump was “trying to redefine the contributions or lack of contributions of each.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, dismissed the plaques as “amusement” and shifted focus to the 2026 midterm elections, saying, “If we lose the House, he’s going to get impeached.”
Unanswered Questions
The White House has not yet answered how the plaques were paid for, whether government funds were used, or whether they were installed by government employees.
Key Takeaways
- Plaques slamming Biden and Obama and praising Trump were installed on Dec. 17, 2025.
- The Biden plaque alleges a corrupt election, disasters, and a 2024 debate loss; the Obama plaque repeats Trump’s conspiracy theories.
- Trump’s plaques boast tax cuts, economic growth, and “Greatest Economy” claims, while the White House has declined to comment on funding.
The controversial plaques have sparked debate over historical accuracy, funding, and the role of the White House in commemorating former presidents.
