Donald Trump returned to a Florida venue this week where he has spoken countless times, but the former president stood silently in the back row as the completely masked crowd listened to other famous politicians. Chief among them was President Biden, who recited the oath of office.
The scene, along with speeches delivered by Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, is something you can only see at Disney World’s Hall of Presidents, which had been closed for the installation of its newest audio-animatronic performer. Mr. Trump famously didn’t attend his successor’s actual swearing in.
The exhibit, which dates back to the park’s opening in 1971, has attracted controversy in recent years—something a major corporation and tourist spot would look to avoid. An unusually long hiatus before Mr. Trump’s installation was followed by objections from the former president’s fans that the robot looked a lot like “Hillary Clinton with a wig on” that had been hastily converted after Mr. Trump’s unexpected victory or, as late-night comedian Stephen Colbert quipped, like “Jon Voight after a chemical spill.”
Perhaps attuned to that criticism, Disney’s Imagineers did more than shuffle Mr. Trump to a spot in the rear by Andrew Jackson. According to Insidethemagic.com, he was replaced with a far more true-to-life figure.
Write to Spencer Jakab at spencer.jakab@wsj.com
