Joe Biden is not wasting time as America’s new commander in chief.
He has already signed several executive decrees and redecorated the Oval Office to reflect his presidential ideals.
His most recent in-house additions include portraits and busts of prominent American leaders, such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and a moonstone borrowed from NASA.
Pictures of the White House reveal changes to the decor of former President Donald Trump, including the replacement of a portrait of Andrew Jackson with one of Benjamin Franklin.
One of Biden’s additions is attracting a lot of attention on social media.
While Biden sits at his desk in the Oval Office, a newly placed bust of Latin civil rights activist Cesar Chavez can be seen on display amid framed photos of Biden’s family.
“Chávez’s apprehension expresses his priorities and an Oval Office that was ready on the first day,” said White House spokeswoman Angela D. Perez. Newsweek in an email.
After images of the seizure appeared online, some social media users wondered if he replaced the bust of a major British leader.
The claim
One of the many tweets received thousands of interactions. It included screen shots of tweets that claimed that Chavez’s arrest replaced a Winston Churchill arrest. The tweets seemed to confuse Cesar Chávez with former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.
One of the images says: “Biden has already removed Churchill’s bust from the oval office and replaced it with a bust of Venezuelan socialist leader Chávez. Dark times are ahead.”
The facts
It is a longstanding tradition for US presidents to adjust the interior of the Oval Office as an expression of their personality and goals.
Before Biden, the Oval Office was selectively styled by Trump, who has displayed Churchill’s bust for the past four years.
“He had originally been lent to George W. Bush by Britain and was later returned when Barack Obama took office. Biden does not have a bust on display,” said the Washington Post.
While Churchill’s bust disappeared, Biden selected busts from Chavez, King, Robert F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt to display in his office, according to reports.
“There is a lot of space for the busts to go in the Oval [Office] as previously noted by Obama, “said Perez.
Chavez’s bust did not replace Churchill, but a statue of former President Andrew Jackson on horseback. The sculpture is quite remarkable because it is directly behind Biden, occupying the same place as Jackson. Churchill’s bust was on a table beside the room.
Chávez’s seizure was borrowed by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, said Perez Newsweek. It was requested by Biden’s transition team and is made entirely of bronze, designed by artist Paul A. Suarez, according to the Cesar Chavez Foundation. It was made 25 years ago and before being loaned to the White House, it was on display at the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument visitor center in Keene, California.
“Placing a bust of my father in the Oval Office symbolizes the new hopeful day that is dawning for our nation,” said Paul F. Chavez, the middle son of Chávez and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, according to the foundation’s website.
“This is not just because it honors my father, but more importantly because it represents faith and empowerment for an entire people in whose name he fought and sacrificed himself.”
Chávez is remembered as an American icon who advocated better working conditions for low-paid rural workers and as an individual who fought for civil rights.
“Chávez and his United Farm Workers union fought against California grape growers, carrying out non-violent protests. Chavez came up with the idea for Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violent actions,” according to Americaslibrary.gov.
The decision
False.
The bust of Cesar Chávez, not Hugo Chávez, did not replace the bust of Winston Churchill that Trump displayed as president. Replaced a statue of Andrew Jackson. Churchill’s bust was removed, but it was not replaced by Chávez.
Pool / Getty