Trump trolls Biden with plans for White House portrait of autopen: ‘Going to be very controversial’
WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump has a new decorating plan for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and it comes with a side of trolling.
The president revealed he’s cooking up a “Presidential Wall of Fame” in the Rose Garden, and his predecessor Joe Biden’s notorious autopen is getting a prized spot.
“It’s a decision I have to make. We put up a picture of the autopen,” Trump told the Daily Caller in an interview published on Monday, September 1. Reporter Reagan Reese laughed. “Oh, that’s hilarious," she said.
Trump even flashed Reese a mock-up of what the “Biden Autopen” portrait could look like.
“I think the black and white — same picture, but black and white. Yeah, and I’m not using that one with the smile,” he explained, before turning to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Communications Director Steven Cheung to pull up the draft images. “I’m using — show the other one that we’re using because I like it. This is going to be very controversial.”
Reese told him, “It’s going to be funny.” However, the White House did not share the image in question with the outlet.
Biden autopen controversy
Joe Biden’s use of the autopen — a mechanical device that stamps out a replica of someone’s signature — has been a running gag for Trump. The White House even launched an investigation into its use back in July.
Senior administration officials said tens of thousands of documents were handed over by the National Archives Records Administration, with the focus on Biden’s autopen activity.
One Trump official fumed, “What did the former president direct, versus what he did not. The only time a legitimate use of the autopen should happen is if the president said he wanted something done, or if he was asked for his approval.”
Trump hasn’t let it go, either. In June, he blasted the device on Truth Social. “With the exception of the RIGGED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020, THE AUTOPEN IS THE BIGGEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY!!!” he wrote.
Fox News reported in March that it reviewed more than 20 Biden-era executive orders filed with the Federal Register between 2021 and 2024. They found that all the documents carried the exact same signature.
Trump targets Biden’s fitness and legacy
In his Daily Caller sit-down, Donald Trump also swung hard at Biden’s presidency and his fitness.
“He didn’t win the race. He lost badly. He was a horrible president, but can you imagine, he says he has Stage Nine cancer. That was what? Two, three months ago?” Trump scoffed.
“Stage Nine. I’ve never heard of more than stage four. Stage four is the highest. I’ve never — if you’re stage four, you’re dead,” he added.
The prostate cancer diagnosis Biden revealed in May clearly gave Trump an opening to throw more shade at the former.
While the “Presidential Wall of Fame” doesn’t have an unveiling date yet, it’s just one piece of Trump’s ambitious White House facelift.
The president recently announced a $200 million ballroom will break ground in September as part of his first-year revamp.
Trump’s sharp eye for detail has also kept contractors on their toes. He recently called out a subcontractor for damaging custom limestone in the Rose Garden with poorly handled gardening equipment.
