18 Pictures Showing The Differences Between Biden’s And Trump’s Oval Office

Now Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States of America, people are examining how the Oval Office in the White House looks like a comparison to when Donald Trump was the President. The variations, like you, could have anticipated, are like night and day. And they’re sending very mixed messages about the sort of America that Biden wants to create.

Where Trump had military flags, a portrait of President Andrew Jackson, and a bust of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Biden opted for portraits of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Alexander Hamilton. Biden also put up busts of Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, and Cesar Chavez.

Joe Biden decorated the Oval Office and it’s full of changes, small and large, from when Donald Trump was in office

Image credits: hunterschwarz

“Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson famously disagreed on almost everything, but they both were patriots with the best interest of America in mind. Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King (who are also prominently featured in the Oval) never held elected office, but they pushed leaders to take action. So I think the message is that you don’t have to agree with everyone all the time, nor do you have to be President, a member of Congress, or even a local elected official to make a difference. Being a citizen is enough,” Rubin explained to Bored Panda what Biden is telling both America, and the entire world.

In Rubin’s opinion, the “most striking” symbolic difference between Trump and Biden’s versions of the Oval Office is Joe replacing Andrew Jackson’s portrait with Ben Franklin’s. “Jackson, who rose to the Presidency via the first wave of nativism and populism, is someone Trump always identified with. Franklin, however, was famous for his scientific tinkering, his inventions, and his help laying the foundation for our constitutional republic. To me, it’s a sign that Biden will trust science and allow it to lead during this pandemic, but also work to preserve our great Republic that Franklin helped to build.”

Rubin also opened up about how he’s feeling cautiously optimistic about the new administration. However, this doesn’t mean that the US will become magically different overnight. “Realistically, I don’t think Biden will be able to accomplish everything progressives want him to, but I also think he’ll be able to accomplish more than conservatives would want him to. So I’m hopeful we’ll be able to make strong progress on a host of issues, but managing expectations will be a challenge for this administration as they tackle numerous crises simultaneously.”

Trump used to display his ‘Challenge Coin’ collection on the credenza

 

Meanwhile, Biden put up photos of his family members and a bust of Cesar Chavez

Trump’s old leather chair is now gone…

…and instead, Biden chose the Dark Academia leather chair which goes very well with the Resolute Desk (which he kept)

Trump had busts of Abraham Lincoln and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (the latter he kept from Obama’s time in the office)

 

Facing Biden, as he sits at his desk, are portraits of former presidents and Founding Fathers

Trump had military flags put up, as well as a portrait of Andrew Jackson, who has recently been criticized for his role in slavery and the treatment of Native Americans 

Meanwhile, Biden removed the military flags and opted for a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, indicating his support for science

Here are some other changes that people spotted