WASHINGTON – As President Joe Biden sat behind the Resolute Desk for the first time as president, some physical differences – from the symbolic choices in decor to simply wearing a mask – were stark compared with that of his predecessor.
Biden, donning a black face mask, sat to sign some executive orders Wednesday night. One order requires masks and social distancing on federal property.
Former President Donald Trump rarely wore a face covering, especially while at the White House, in the Oval Office and behind the Resolute Desk.
He even infamously and – pointedly – removed his mask as soon as he returned from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he was treated for COVID-19 in October.
The copper bust of the human rights defender was placed one step away from the desk where the president will sign laws that will change the destiny of millions of people for the next four years, at least. President Biden is partnering with César Chávez that means that the president s heart is very big, he understands the sacrifice of farmworkers, said Dolores Huerta, an activist leader who worked closely with César Chávez. But I think that more than that, the importance of that [bust] is that Biden recognizes the contribution that immigrants have made to that nation,” said Paul Chávez.
As President Joe Biden signed executive orders on his first day as Commander-in-Chief, the face of a California civil rights icon who changed the life of farm.
(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.
A bronze bust of Cesar Chavez, a Mexican-American civil rights activist and labor leader, is among the new sculptures installed in President Joe Biden s Oval Office at the White House.
Chavez s bust, created by artist Paul Suarez, was placed on a table behind the Resolute Desk in Biden s Oval Office. The 22-inch sculpture sits beside several framed family photos.
The bust of Cesar Chavez is one of some aesthetic changes that Joe Biden made to the room, one that likely supports his pledge to the Latino community.