WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump has affixed partisan plaques to the portraits of all U.S. commanders in chief, himself included, on his Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House, describing Joe Biden as 鈥渟leepy,鈥� Barack Obama as 鈥渄ivisive鈥� and Ronald Reagan as a fan of a young Trump.
The additions, first seen publicly Wednesday, mark Trump’s latest effort to remake the White House in his own image, while flouting the protocols of how presidents treat their predecessors and doubling down on his determination to is told.
鈥淭he plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind,鈥� White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement describing the installation in the colonnade that runs from the West Wing to the residence. 鈥淎s a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.鈥�
Indeed, the Trumpian flourishes include the president鈥檚 typical bombastic language and haphazard capitalization. They also highlight Trump’s fraught relationships with his more recent predecessors.
An introductory plaque tells passersby that the exhibit was 鈥渃onceived, built, and dedicated by President Donald J. Trump as a tribute to past Presidents, good, bad, and somewhere in the middle.鈥�
Besides the Walk of Fame and its new plaques, Trump has in gold and in preparation for a massive ballroom. Separately, his administration has pushed for an examination of how Smithsonian exhibits present the nation鈥檚 history, and he is playing a strong hand in how the federal government will recognize the nation’s in 2026.
Here’s a look at how Trump’s colonnade exhibit tells the presidential story.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden is still the only president in the display not to be recognized with a gilded portrait. Instead, Trump , reflecting his mockery of Biden鈥檚 age and assertions that Biden was not up to the job.
Biden, who defeated Trump in the 2020 election and dropped out of the 2024 election before their pending rematch, is introduced as 鈥淪leepy Joe鈥� and 鈥渂y far, the worst President in American History鈥� who 鈥渂rought our Nation to the brink of destruction.鈥�
Two plaques blast Biden for inflation and his energy and immigration policy, among other things. The text also blames Biden for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and asserts falsely that Biden was elected fraudulently.
Biden鈥檚 post-White House office had no comment on his plaque.
Barack Obama
The 44th president is described as 鈥渁 community organizer, one term Senator from Illinois, and one of the most divisive political figures in American History.”
The plaque calls Obama’s signature domestic achievement 鈥渢he highly ineffective 鈥楿naffordable Care Act.”
And it notes that Trump nixed other major Obama achievements: 鈥渢he terrible Iran Nuclear Deal … and 鈥漷he one-side Paris Climate Accords.”
An aide to Obama also declined comment.
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, who notably did not speak to Trump when they were last together at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, appears to win approval for creating the Department of Homeland Security and leading the nation after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But the plaque decries that Bush 鈥渟tarted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened.鈥�
An aide to Bush didn鈥檛 return a message seeking comment.
Bill Clinton
The 42nd president, once a friend of Trump’s, gets faint praise for major crime legislation, an overhaul of the social safety net and balanced budgets.
But his plaque notes Clinton secured those achievements with a Republican Congress, the help of the 1990s 鈥渢ech boom鈥� and 鈥渄espite the scandals that plagued his Presidency.鈥�
Clinton’s recognition describes the North American Free Trade Agreement, another of his major achievements, as 鈥渂ad for the United States鈥� and something Trump would 鈥渢erminate鈥� during his first presidency. (Trump actually renegotiated some terms with Mexico and Canada but the fundamental deal.)
His plaque ends with the line: 鈥淚n 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!鈥�
An aide to Clinton did not return a message seeking comment.
Other notable plaques
The broadsides dissipate the further back into history the plaques go.
Republican George H.W. Bush, who died during Trump’s first term, is recognized for his lengthy resume before becoming president, along with legislation including the Clean Air Act and Americans With Disabilities Act 鈥� despite Trump’s administration relaxing enforcement of both. The elder Bush’s plaque does not note that he, not Clinton, first pushed the major trade law that became NAFTA.
Lyndon Johnson鈥檚 plaque credits the Texas Democrat for securing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 (seminal laws that Trump鈥檚 administration interprets differently than previous administrations). It correctly notes that discontent over Vietnam led to LBJ not seeking reelection in 1968.
Democrat John F. Kennedy, the uncle of Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is credited as a World War II 鈥渨ar hero鈥� who later used 鈥渟tirring rhetoric鈥� as president in opposition to communism.
Republican Richard Nixon鈥檚 plaque states plainly that the Watergate scandal led to his resignation.
While Trump spared most deceased presidents of harsh criticism, he jabbed at one of his regular targets, the media 鈥� this time across multiple centuries: Andrew Jackson鈥檚 plaque says the seventh president was 鈥渦njustifiably treated unfairly by the Press, but not as viciously and unfairly as President Abraham Lincoln and President Donald J. Trump would, in the future, be.鈥�
Donald Trump
With two presidencies, Trump gets two displays. Each is full of praise and superlatives 鈥� 鈥渢he Greatest Economy in the History of the World.鈥� He calls his 2016 Electoral College margin of 304-227 a 鈥渓andslide.鈥�
Trump’s second-term plaque notes his popular vote victory 鈥� something he did not achieve in 2016 鈥� and concludes with 鈥淭HE BEST IS YET TO COME.鈥�
Meanwhile, the introductory plaque presumes Trump鈥檚 addition will be a White House fixture once he is no longer president: 鈥淭he Presidential Walk of Fame will long live as a testament and tribute to the Greatness of America.鈥�
___
Barrow reported from Atlanta.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
