--- title: White House Criticized Over Biden Snub 'Autopen' Portrait description: "Replacing Biden's portrait with a picture of a pen? He gave decades of his life to public service and did so with compassion and strength." canonical: https://time.com/7320416/white-house-criticized-presidential-portrait-joe-biden-autopen/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-09-25T12:44:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:19:11.036Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Criticized Over Biden Snub 'Autopen' Portrait og:description: "Replacing Biden's portrait with a picture of a pen? He gave decades of his life to public service," said one critic. og:url: https://time.com/7320416/white-house-criticized-presidential-portrait-joe-biden-autopen/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6ddfe2b0178ff56/6998c51b1f670942bff56360/GettyImages-2194358329.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2724 og:image:height: 1532 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Criticized Over Biden Snub 'Autopen' Portrait twitter:description: "Replacing Biden's portrait with a picture of a pen? He gave decades of his life to public service," said one critic. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6ddfe2b0178ff56/6998c51b1f670942bff56360/GettyImages-2194358329.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Draws Criticism Over Snubbing Biden Portrait in Favor of Autopen Picture in New Presidential Gallery > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d530962b-3710-451f-8bcb-7657d9e71934&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Sep 25, 2025 12:44 PM UTC  President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden are pictured in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden are pictured in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Melina Mara—AP by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Sep 25, 2025 12:44 PM UTC The White House has received criticism after unveiling a grand new presidential gallery which features portraits of all the Presidents in chronological order, with one notable exception. In place of a portrait of President Joe Biden, who handed over the office in January after a four-year stint as Commander-in-Chief, sits an image of an autopen. The snub was in reference to [Trump’s ongoing investigation into Biden](https://time.com/7291354/trump-orders-investigation-into-biden-and-aides/) and his aides over the use of the mechanical device, which he claims is among the “most dangerous” scandals in U.S. history. After a White House staffer shared a video that spanned the black and white portraits of former Presidents lining a wall on the West Wing before landing dramatically on the autopen image, Chris Meagher, who served as deputy press secretary under the Biden Administration, criticized the White House’s use of its time. “Continually impressed at how laser-focused the White House continues to be on Trump's ‘Day One’ promise to lower prices and all the steps they're taking to make life easier for families struggling to get by,” he [remarked](https://x.com/chrismeagher/status/1970901975366762877). > [](https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1970902690474647786) Jane Fleming Kleeb, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, also condemned the action. “President Joe Biden gave decades of his life to public service and did so with compassion and strength,” she [said](https://x.com/janekleeb/status/1970944280177856617). “Replacing Biden's portrait with a picture of a pen? You know farmers just lost more markets to Argentina right? We have bigger issues.” The stunt from the White House drew further ire from international critics. Former Downing Street press secretary Alistair Campbell [labelled](https://x.com/campbellclaret/status/1970918959106191686) the move “sick” and “anti-American.” > [](https://twitter.com/MargoMartin47/status/1970899400487539065) TIME has reached out to Biden’s team for comment. Trump had previously teased that Biden would be snubbed in his presidential gallery. During an [interview](https://dailycaller.com/2025/09/02/donald-trump-autopen-oval-office-joe-biden-rose-garden-exclusive-interview-tour-white-house/) with the Daily Caller in August, the President said he would be hanging a “Biden Autopen” to mark the Biden presidency. **Read More**: [_Trump Orders Investigation Into Biden and His Aides. Here’s What to Know_](https://time.com/7291354/trump-orders-investigation-into-biden-and-aides/) In June, Trump [ordered](https://time.com/7291354/trump-orders-investigation-into-biden-and-aides/) an investigation into Biden and his aides, accusing the latter of concealing Biden’s “serious cognitive decline” and abusing the power of Presidential signatures. In a [memorandum](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/reviewing-certain-presidential-actions/) addressed to the Attorney General, the Counsel for President, Trump said “it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen,” describing it as one of the “most dangerous” scandals in U.S. history. Biden, who announced his diagnosis of "aggressive" prostate cancer in May, referred to the accusations as “ridiculous and false” in a statement addressing Trump's claims. "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,” Biden [said](https://www.axios.com/2025/06/05/biden-trump-autopen-investigation-mental-fitness). “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations." Autopens have [long been used](https://www.shapell.org/behind-the-scenes/the-robot-pen/?gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=791427599&gbraid=0AAAAADlepVbK2leoXfv4kjt1iOtf%5FXKcB&gclid=CjwKCAjw3f%5FBBhAPEiwAaA3K5MsrhrD8tYsNN1uu7k2cWDb1DtrQYXZKV7BTfnMPGOI4xAds-3HSrxoCZMgQAvD%5FBwE) by Presidents throughout U.S. history. It’s thought they were first used by Thomas Jefferson after the device was patented in 1803\. Although the autopen has evolved over the last 200 years, it has been used by other Presidents including Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson during their time in the Oval Office. **Read More**: [_How the Autopen Earned Trump’s Ire_](https://time.com/7302605/trump-biden-autopen/) Ian Sams, a former spokesperson in the Biden White House, was interviewed by the House Committee on Oversight as part of the inquiry in August. Sams said during his testimony that he only met with the former President twice in-person, as well as a phone call and a virtual meeting. Following Sams’ testimony, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chairman James Comer, a Republican Representative of Kentucky, [vowed](https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-statement-on-ian-samss-transcribed-interview/) to continue pressing “for answers to ensure full transparency for the American people.” “Rather than drawing conclusions from firsthand experience, Mr. Sams received much of his direction from the White House Counsel and Biden’s inner circle. Mr. Sams repeatedly made broad public claims about the President’s cognitive condition, but he was not in a position to make these claims based on such limited contact,” Comer claimed. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7320416/white-house-criticized-presidential-portrait-joe-biden-autopen/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7320416/white-house-criticized-presidential-portrait-joe-biden-autopen/"},"headline":"White House Draws Criticism Over Snubbing Biden Portrait in Favor of Autopen Picture in New Presidential Gallery","datePublished":"2025-09-25T12:44:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:19:11.036Z","description":"\"Replacing Biden's portrait with a picture of a pen? 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