US Politics
Trump trolls Biden with plans for new portrait of the former president in White House Rose Garden
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After paving over the luscious turf of the White House Rose Garden, President Donald Trump has announced another addition to the iconic outdoor space: a portrait of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Trump, who has amassed an increasing collection of self-portraits, teased the new painting on Monday after unveiling plans for a “Presidential Wall of Fame” during an interview with conservative news outlet the Daily Caller. However, when it comes to a piece about his immediate predecessor, it is not clear how serious Trump is being.
“We’re doing what’s called the Presidential Wall of Fame,” Trump said, showing off presidential portraits in gold frames he plans to display to the publication’s White House Correspondent Reagan Reese in the Oval Office.
With Hotel California blaring from the speakers, the president escorted Reese through the Rose Garden before retreating to his office to share more about the “very controversial” Biden portrait.
open image in gallery
“You’re going to put President Biden up too?” the reporter asked.
“Okay – show it,” Trump said. “We put up a picture of the autopen.”
“Oh, that’s hilarious,” Reese replied, before Trump pivoted to insist the 2020 election was rigged and mistakenly declared that Biden had “stage nine” cancer. Biden revealed his stage four prostate cancer diagnosis in May, which carries a Gleason score of nine.
While the president did not reveal precisely where he wants the portrait to hang, he said that the black-and-white painting is being “prepared” before it goes “up in about two weeks.”
“This is going to be very controversial,” Trump said.
“It’s going to be funny,” Reese replied.
It remained unclear whether Trump’s comments about the autopen painting were made in jest or whether Biden would ultimately be included.
open image in gallery
Trump and other Republicans have accused Biden’s staff of making decisions on behalf of the Democrat by using the autopen when he was unaware.
The tool allows staffers or assistants to place the president’s signature on an official document without requiring a “wet signature”, one physically made with ink on paper.
The president has called the allegations a “tremendous scandal” and claimed that Biden “knew nothing about what he was signing.”
Trump and his supporters have theorized that Biden’s frequent use of the autopen, a commonly used practice among presidents and officials, is directly correlated to his alleged mental decline.
Biden denied the allegations, telling The New York Times in July that he made “every decision” but used the autopen to sign off on certain documents, such as clemency and pardons issued at the end of his term.
