Trump Puts Childish Plaques in White House Mocking Accomplishments of Predecessors

There was a time when the White House was an institution of decorum. When there were inviolate rules about behavior, at least in the public eye. What went on behind closed doors is the subject of decades of speculation.

Yet in public, at least, presidents and their staff maintained a semblance of bipartisanship when it came to respect for their predecessors and the office of the presidency.

Those days appear to be but a memory with the return of President Donald Trump for his second term in office. While Trump has always been a "plain speaker," he has escalated his war on decorum during his second term in office, slinging mud at his predecessors, political opponents, and sometimes allies alike.

But he may have taken things a step too far for even his diehards with the introduction of a series of plaques at the White House. Here's what we know about the controversial plaques.

On the colonnade between the West Wing and the main structure of the White House, Trump's administration has installed a "Hall of Presidents," which celebrates all of the American Presidents from the first to the most recent. But couched within this apparent display of patriotism are subtle insults, most notably among the most recent predecessors. For instance, former President Joe Biden's photo is not his official portrait; it's a picture of an autopen, reflecting one of Trump's most ardent criticisms of his direct predecessor.

And now, there are plaques underneath the photos. Most are historic, but several are suspiciously personally insulting. For instance, on the plaque for former President Barack Obama, the plaque declares him "the most divisive political figure in American history." It also blasts Obama's passage of what it calls the "Unaffordable Care Act," and touts how his foreign policy gains were overturned by Trump.

Biden's plaque is worse, if that's possible. The plaque declares him “by far, the worst President in American history," claiming he took office “as a result of the most corrupt election ever seen in the United States.” It adds, "Nicknamed both ‘Sleepy’ and ‘Crooked,’ Joe Biden was dominated by his Radical Left handlers." It concludes, "President Trump would get Re-Elected in a Landslide, and SAVE AMERICA!”

If the language sounds familiar, it should. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that the plaques contain "eloquently written descriptions of each president,” adding that, "many were written directly by the President himself" (excerpts via Newsweek).

If you're wondering what the President had to say about his own record, you won't be surprised to learn that he was far more forgiving of his own time in office. Trump has plaques under both of his photos, so he has ample space to praise his own administration initiatives. The first administration plaque begins, "In 2016, campaigning under the slogan 'Make America Great Again,' Donald J. Trump became the first person in American history to be elected president without previously holding political office or serving as a military officer.

The plaques go on to praise the fact that he claims to have "ended eight wars" and overturned policies from former presidents.

While most of the presidential plaques have some semblance of historical fact to them, it's easy to guess which ones were dictated by the president himself. The legacy of political one-upmanship and mud-slinging at your predecessors is a precedent many online are saying starts and ends with Trump.