In a scathing critique, MSNBC's "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough has compared former President Donald Trump's latest decorative addition to the White House to the work of an elementary school bully. The focus of his ire is the newly installed "Presidential Walk of Fame" along the historic West Wing Colonnade, which now features plaques that critics say rewrite history with a partisan and often inaccurate slant.
A Walkway Transformed into a Political Battleground
The controversy centres on the outdoor corridor connecting the West Wing and the Executive Residence. In August 2025, the Trump administration revealed it was giving the colonnade what some have dubbed the "Mar-a-Lago treatment." The previously blank walls were adorned with a large, store-bought-style sign reading "Presidential Walk of Fame," accompanied by gold-framed presidential portraits and busy decorative elements.
The situation escalated this week when individual plaques were added beneath each portrait. According to a report by the New York Times, the descriptions are written in a style reminiscent of Trump's hyperbolic social media posts and frequently present an inaccurate version of history. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to NBC News that Trump was deeply involved, stating, "As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself."
Scarborough's Blunt Assessment and the Plaques' Content
On the December 18, 2025, broadcast, Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, did not mince words. "He's putting up third grade plaques in the people's White House," Scarborough declared. "Might as well write it in crayons." He further criticized Trump's "crazy obsession" with President Joe Biden.
A closer look at the plaques reveals why they have sparked such outrage:
- Barack Obama is referred to formally as "Barack Hussein Obama" and labelled "one of the most divisive political figures in American history," despite his high favorability ratings.
- Bill Clinton's plaque downplays his administration's successes and pointedly notes his wife, Hillary Clinton, lost to Trump in 2016.
- Joe Biden's plaque is the most aggressively personal. Instead of a portrait, it features an image of an autopen. It calls "Sleepy Joe Biden" the "worst President in American history," falsely claims he won the "most corrupt election ever," and accuses him of "severe mental decline" and leading a "Crime Family."
- Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump received two plaques for his 2016 and 2025 wins, with one boasting he created "the Greatest Economy in the History of the World."
More Than a Decor Dispute: A Clash Over History and Legacy
This incident transcends a simple debate over aesthetic taste. It represents a very public effort by the Trump White House to cement a specific, and highly contested, narrative of presidential history directly onto the walls of one of America's most iconic buildings. Critics argue it turns a national monument into a platform for personal grievance and partisan propaganda, disrespecting the office and misleading visitors.
While the administration defends the plaques as "eloquently written descriptions," the reaction from figures like Scarborough and historical analysts suggests this Presidential Walk of Fame will remain a flashpoint in the ongoing cultural and political wars, symbolizing the deep divisions in how America's past and present are interpreted.
