Trump Turns White House Wall Into Ex-President Burn Book |
Four months ago, people barely thought about the White House’s West Colonnade. The walkway adjacent to the Rose Garden is sometimes referred to as the “45-second commute,” as it connects the Executive Residence and the West Wing. It’s the background to countless presidential photos, like the shot below from Joe Biden’s final year in office. However, there’s wasn’t much to ponder about the wall itself, since it was just a big blank space:
But thanks to Donald Trump, today it looks like this:
Trump has transformed the space into a gallery featuring himself and all of his predecessors. It’s easy to be distracted by all the gold, but the worst part is actually the hardest to spot. A plaque filled with Trumpian insults has just been added below each president’s portrait.
This once unassuming exterior wall has become a canvas for Trump’s tackiest design ideas and pettiest impulses. The president has been fussing over it since late August, when he was spotted directing the placement of a row of paper templates along the West Colonnade. This was replaced by a jagged row of gold-framed portraits of each president — except for Joe Biden, who is depicted by a picture of an autopen signing his name. Trump then added a giant sign that reads “Presidential Walk of Fame,” gold embellishments, and a mirror that he proudly