The White House released a video Wednesday featuring the new Presidential Walk of Fame in the West Wing Colonnade.
The display, which is right outside the Oval Office, features portraits of what appear to be all 45 people who have served as president, going back to George Washington.
However, in the place where former President Joe Biden’s picture would be is an image of an autopen.
👀 https://t.co/jE2Vm7UdjL pic.twitter.com/CJ3yQBtPGQ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 24, 2025
White House aide Margo Martin posted a video of the display, including the autopen picture.
The Presidential Walk of Fame has arrived on the West Wing Colonnade
Wait for it… 🖊️👀 pic.twitter.com/ApWfdxfFQa
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) September 24, 2025
There has been an ongoing controversy since the spring regarding allegations that Biden White House officials used the autopen to sign directives on his behalf.
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For example, Biden granted more acts of clemency than any other president in U.S. history, according to the Pew Research Center. During just one term, he gave a total of 4,245, which included 4,165 commutations of sentences and 80 pardons.
At a media briefing in early June, Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy held up the example of four pardons allegedly given by Biden.
“Most of the big ones have the same very neat signatures. We would expect that probably to be the autopen,” he noted. “There is one that looks different. It looks authentic. In fact, if you look at the last name, it almost looks like the president was having a hard time spelling his last name there.”
Doocy pointed out that the one pardon signature that looks different was indeed for Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, which the then-president issued in December 2024.
“Is this White House of the opinion that the only pardon that would count is one that the president signed himself for Hunter Biden?” the reporter asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The autopen signed most documents—but Hunter Biden’s pardon looks like Joe’s real signature. Peter Doocy notes some key discrepancies. pic.twitter.com/gfLKq2RBAC
— JOSH DUNLAP (@JDunlap1974) July 14, 2025
“The president is making a good point when he discusses the usage of the autopen. Who was running the country for the past four years?” Leavitt responded.
The New York Times reported in July that the DOJ is reviewing tens of thousands of Biden White House emails having to do with clemency actions, and the outlet had obtained some of them.
The Times said that Biden did not personally approve all of the pardons or commutations that he granted, but established categories of people who could receive clemency, and his staff then carried out the decree. “I made every decision,” Biden told the Times during a phone interview.
Axios reported earlier this month that internal emails obtained by the outlet showed high-ranking Biden officials were concerned by the frequent use of the autopen late in his term.
Trump spoke about the autopen controversy last week, arguing, “Joe Biden wasn’t giving those orders,” adding, “He didn’t believe in open borders and all of this nonsense that they’re peddling now, which is why they’re not in office any longer.”
The president seemed to be suggesting that Biden’s staff disseminated many policies in his name.
“The autopen was illegal. It was illegally used,” Trump asserted. “He never gave the orders. He never told them what to do.”
TRUMP on BIDEN: “He was never the brightest bulb in the ceiling.”
“The autopen was illegal. It was illegally used. He never gave the orders. He never told them what to do.”
“One of the few he signed was the pardon for his son.” pic.twitter.com/5xEQr2KmFs
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 18, 2025
“And I guess the only one he signed — or one of the few he signed — was the pardon for his son.”
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