On Wednesday, President Donald Trump unveiled a new walkway in the West Wing of the White House, which he called the “Presidential Walk of Fame.” The Walk of Fame includes portraits of each of the previous presidents with a plaque that details a short history of their lifetime and achievements, as told by Trump himself. 

The information detailed on the plaques is notably biased and shaped in order to align with Trump’s point of view. The plaques under the portraits of Trump’s recent democratic predecessors mock them and their accomplishments. In contrast, there are two different portraits of Trump, one for each of his terms, which praise him and his achievements. 

“I think that there is some issue with inserting bias into a tribute wall like this one,” senior Lila Pollak said. “Typically, these portraits and plaques would be fairly objective and written in a more neutral tone,”

The plaques created for Former President Barack Obama and Former President Joe Biden were the longest and most infused with Trump’s personal and political opinions. Obama is labeled “one of the most divisive political figures in American history” on his plaque, and is accused of spying on Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. Many of Obama’s other achievements were mocked, like the Affordable Care Act, which, under the plaque, is labeled the “unaffordable” care act. 

Instead of a portrait like every other president, the image for Biden is a picture of a pen, labeled “autopen,” which refers to a theory created by Trump that there was a false pen that was signing Biden’s signature. On the plaque, Biden is not referred to by his first name, but instead as “Sleepy Joe.” Biden is also referred to as “the worst president in American history” as well as “bringing the nation to the brink of destruction” on his plaque. 

Trump also made digs at several other democratic presidents; however, the descriptions seem to become more partisan and biased as they reach the current time. Former President Bill Clinton’s plaque details many policies he introduced that Trump has since shut down, and his plaque ends with the detail that Trump beat his wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 election. 

“When I read the plaques, I was shocked by the divisive and biased tone,” senior Elizabeth Fox said. “It just seems like Trump is ripping out pages from his diary and mounting them on the wall,” 

The partisan bias was not just present in the plaques for the democratic presidents. Trump included highly elevated or skewed versions of history in several of the plaques of former Republican presidents. Former President Richard Nixon, the only president to ever resign due to impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of justice, is portrayed in a positive light on the plaques. His plaque reads that he made “one of the greatest political comebacks in American history,” and that he vowed to “maintain Law and Order.”

On Former President Ronald Reagan’s plaque, he is titled “the great communicator,” and is said to have “transformed American politics.” Reagan’s plaque also depicts him as a fan of Donald Trump, even before “Trump’s historic run for the white house.” 

“This is very inappropriate and unbecoming of a president,” Global Politics teacher Martin Jorgensen said. “It is degrading to the presidential office, and I wonder if it will serve any purpose beyond pure pettiness,” 

White House press secretary Karoline Levitt has stated that the plaques contained “eloquent” descriptions of presidential history. She also noted that many of the Plaques were written by Trump himself. 

The new addition to the White House is amongst many renovations Trump has started during his second Presidential term. In October, Trump tore down the East Wing of the White House to begin a 250 million dollar ballroom. 

“I think that all of these major changes and additions to the White House are a bit alarming,” Pollak said. “It’s a place full of history, and it is being changed so easily and rapidly.”