WASHINGTON — President Trump unveiled the new “Presidential Walk of Fame” at the White House Wednesday, featuring photos of the 45 men who have led the United States — with a harsh rebuke of former President Joe Biden, who is represented by an image of an autopen.
“The Presidential Walk of Fame has arrived on the West Wing Colonnade. Wait for it…” tweeted Trump special assistant Margo Martin, with a panned video of the gold-framed portraits, beginning with George Washington nearest the White House residence before reaching pictures of Trump and the autopen.
Trump, 79, personally inspected the latest Executive Mansion renovation in a photo tweeted by the official White House account.
The Colonnade abuts the Rose Garden and connects the presidential living quarters and event spaces of the White House to workspaces, including the Oval Office in the West Wing.
Trump’s plan to portray Biden, 82, as an autopen was known for weeks, and the iconic passageway’s white wall was recently resurfaced in preparation.
Trump has highlighted his predecessor’s use of the electronic signing device to question whether Democratic aides improperly used Biden’s signature during his alleged cognitive decline.
Although he was forced to drop his re-election bid last year by fellow Democrats panicked about his mental acuity, Biden has insisted that he was fully in control and that he authorized the autopen’s use.
Auto-penned signatures carry full legal force so long as they were authorized.
Biden White House emails indicate that there were internal and Justice Department concerns about the then-president’s apparent lack of review of “specific documents” for mass-clemencies in January.
Trump has made many other White House renovations — including the under-construction ballroom that will replace the East Wing.
Other recent changes include gold gilding and adornments added to the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, a refreshed Palm Room lobby, the replacement of sod with a patio in the Rose Garden, two massive new flagpoles on the North and South Lawns and a gut job on the Lincoln Bedroom’s bathroom.
A Biden spokesperson did not immediately offer comment.
Although the jab at Biden was gleefully circulated Wednesday by Trump supporters, the photo exhibit has not received universal acclaim.
Pete Souza, the former chief White House photographer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, condemned the looming redesign last month when DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro shared an image of prep work for the display.
“The current occupant of the Oval Office is ruining the look of the White House colonnade. He is hanging dozens of gold-framed portraits along the wall of the colonnade,” Souza wrote on Instagram.
“I find it personally appalling that he is ruining the People’s House in so many ways. It’s becoming the northern Mar-e-Lago [sic].”
