News/Commentary

Trump’s White House renovation plans have ruffled a few feathers

March 18, 2025 | | Print Article

President Donald Trump has reportedly been remaking the Oval Office in the image of both his lavish Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, and Trump Tower.

Since Inauguration Day, he’s tripled the number of wall paintings and added “flags, statues, and ornaments” to shelves and surfaces, according to an exclusive CNN report.

It’s made the Oval Office much like his office at Trump Tower.

“For decades, his corner suite on the 26th floor of Trump Tower was stuffed with collectibles on the windowsill and tables, with framed photographs and magazine covers donning the walls,” CNN notes.

He’s also added gold “everywhere: new gold vermeil figurines on the mantle and medallions on the fireplace, gold eagles on the side tables, gilded Rococo mirrors on the doors, and, nestled in the pediments above the doorways, diminutive gold cherubs shipped in from Mar-a-Lago.”

Even the television’s remote control is reportedly wrapped in a thin layer of gold.

According to two sources who spoke with CNN, the president had also considered adding a chandelier to the Oval Office.

Meanwhile, Trump also plans to renovate the Rose Garden “by paving over the grass and turning it into a patio-style seating area” reminiscent of what he has going for him over at Mar-a-Lago.

Over on the South Lawn, Trump reportedly hopes to build a new ballroom modeled after the one at Mar-a-Lago.

“He has reviewed multiple sets of blueprints since taking office, showing them off to visitors and making tweaks to the designs,” CNN notes. “Trump has long said he’ll pay for the construction himself – he even offered to build it during the Obama administration – but it’s still not clear whether the project will proceed on the historic grounds.”

Speaking with The Spectator last month, the president spoke a little about his plans for the ballroom.

“One of the things I’m going to do is build a beautiful, magnificent ballroom at the White House,”  he said. “Beautiful ballroom. They always wanted to have a — hey, get me the picture. There’s a picture of a ballroom that I have and that you show, but. And it keeps my real estate juices flowing. But it’ll be beautiful. But they’ve always wanted a ballroom, you know, they only have the East Room, which is really very small.”

During an event last month, the president also retold the story about him having previously offered to spend $100 million to build a ballroom at the White House, only for the offer to be rejected by the Biden administration.

Listen:

Leftists and other Trump haters of course don’t care for any of these changes.

“Every president has a right to decorate the Oval Office,” a former White House official told CNN. “But his décor is so weirdly un-presidential, it’s more king-like.”

The anger and disgust is also palpable on social media, where leftist critics have called the president’s design choices “tacky” and “sickening.”

Look:

Vivek Saxena
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