New occupant making his mark on Oval Office
Biden tweaks White House decor
Joe Biden wasted no time at all in sweeping away many of the signs that donald Trump was ever in the Oval Office.
Out went the artwork depicting America’s populist leaders and the military insignia that Trump brought with him in 2017. In came busts of civil rights activists and tributes to the importance of unity and science.
Each president can decorate the Oval Office how they like, and their choices of paintings, statues and furniture are hurriedly moved into the room on Inauguration day.
Biden gave a prominent place to a bust of rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as part of a wider overhaul in which he wanted to reflect the diversity of the united States.
An official said the new president wanted to “walk into an Oval that looked like America.” Biden also included busts of rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez, the Latino-american civil rights leader, as well as robert Kennedy and Eleanor roosevelt.
Trump had introduced a painting of Andrew Jackson, America’s populist seventh president, and flags of various branches of the military.
Biden removed all signs of Jackson from the office, replacing the painting with one of Benjamin Franklin, along with a piece of moon rock from the Apollo missions. Opposite his desk, Biden placed a large portrait of Franklin d. roosevelt, the architect of social programmes that dug the u.s. out of the Great depression.
The roosevelt portrait is flanked by four others, including rivals Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.
The two Founding Fathers were hung next to each other to symbolize the value of dissenting opinions.
Biden replaced Trump’s old military flags, opting instead for one of the presidential seal and one of the national flag.
One piece that remains is the resolute desk.
despite having a choice of six desks, the 46th president has chosen to keep the same one as his four immediate predecessors. It was built from oak used in the British Arctic exploration ship HMS resolute. As for the soft furnishings, Biden has replaced his predecessor’s golden drapes with a slightly darker pair from the Clinton era.
Meanwhile, the Bushera cream rug with garland edging is gone, in favour of a deep blue one with a presidential seal in the middle.
Biden also vowed a change of working culture and tone in his White House, after some of Trump’s aides briefed furiously against each other during his administration.
In a virtual address to 1,000 political appointees he said: “Everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. That’s been missing in a big way the last four years.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.” Biden added: “If you ever work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.”
On his desk, Biden has made some minor adjustments. There is a cup and saucer set, as well as a box of pens to sign documents.
Trump had a button with which he summoned an aide and a thick black marker with his golden signature printed on the barrel.
As he swore in appointees by video conference from the state dining room, Biden told them the united States had the “most decent government in the world.”
He added: “We have to restore the soul of this country, and I’m counting on all of you to be part of that.
“I expect you to do that for all the folks you deal with.”
Biden did not mention Trump by name.
He emphasized that his staff’s loyalty was to the American people rather than to the president. Biden said: “People don’t work for us, we work for the people. I work for the people.
“They pay my salary. They pay your salary.”
The president said he was not concerned by the prospect of delays in the Senate as he tries to get his cabinet nominees confirmed.
He said: “I’m confident we can move quickly.”