In his second term, Donald Trump is obsessed with a few things, whether it’s his question for a Nobel Peace Prize or revenge against his many enemies. Added to that list are White House decorations, whether it’s an Oval Office draped in gold, the frequent rearrangement of presidential portraits, or the long-term White House ballroom project.
The Daily Beast reported this week that Trump aides have discussed how “obsessed” the president is with the different renovations.
“Aides say Donald Trump has spent hours poring over the details of his $250 million White House facelift—breaking for impromptu design sessions, interrupting meetings, and fidgeting with 3D models over meals,” the Daily Beast said.
An Axios report, meanwhile, stated that the president is “literally the project manager.”
Trump is remodeling the White House & environs like no other president, gilding the Oval, planting trees, creating the Rose Garden patio & a ballroom, hanging portraits, even directing how & where new marble-tiled floors are laid
This is Don The Builderhttps://t.co/Faggt5myHA
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 15, 2025
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Trump, Axios said, “has had models and dioramas built for other projects he’s considering, and even directed how and where new marble-tiled floors are laid.”
The president has even led visiting foreign leaders on lengthy tours of the renovated White House, including a 40-minute tour he gave to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s done similar things for members of Congress.
“Last month, a delegation of Florida House lawmakers spent even more time with the president — well over an hour — as he showed them the new tile floors in the old washroom of the Lincoln Bedroom (statuary marble Trump had selected),” Axios said.
He’s also asked visitors and staffers to “vote” on certain design choices. He’s even done it with business leaders, Axios reported, interrupting a recent meeting with Mark Zuckerberg to show off the new Bang & Olufsen sound system.
“He asks everyone for a vote on everything,” a White House adviser said. “We vote. Anybody that walks through gets a vote. He cares so deeply about perfection that this is what he does.”
“The decoration Mr. Trump has splattered across the Oval Office is inspired by European Baroque and Rococo of the 1600s and 1700s, when power was shown through ornate displays of grotesque abundance.”https://t.co/Y0KH5Q90bR
— Alexander C. Kafka (@AlexanderKafka) May 27, 2025
While the New York Times has denouncing the decorations as “A Gilded Rococo Nightmare,” Trump’s team has defended the new White House aesthetics.
“He’s stamping his legacy on the presidency and on the White House forever,” a senior adviser told Axios. “No one can get rid of the ballroom. It will be difficult to take all of the gold away. Who would even do that?”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
