Trump’s Power Meet Turned Into Vote on White House Decor
The president is leaving his mark on the White House.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump’s next move as the White House’s resident makeover king is to give the Cabinet Room decor his trademark Midas touch.
A big fan of shiny things, Trump has already turned the White House as golden as possible. That has included adding gold trim to the crown molding around the ceiling of the Oval Office, to match the gold curtains and gold around the fireplace mantel.
Gold cherubs from his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate have been installed in the White House, as well as gold vases and urns and a gold ‘Trump’ crest over the door leading into the White House. There are also gold drink coasters with the president’s surname printed on them.
The White House's Cabinet Room this week. Note no gold leaf on the ceiling - yet.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
CNN reported Trump has tripled the amount of portraits in the White House, including one of himself. The Washington Post story stated Trump is a particularly big fan of frames. “You know, I’m a frame person,” he said. “Sometimes I like frames more than I like the pictures.”
Already this year, Trump installed two 88-foot flagpoles that are “about as big as you can get” in the North and South lawns of the White House.
The White House Rose Garden lawn is also getting a do-over, being replaced with stone tiles to create a patio in the style of Mar-a-Lago. Trump said in March, “The grass just, it doesn’t work. We use it for press conferences and it doesn’t work because the people fall into the wet grass.”
A gold drink coaster box on Donald Trump's coffee table.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The president used downtime after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss everything from Gaza to global tariffs, and to highlight the cosmetic changes he has instigated in the Cabinet Room.
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“It’s really become quite a beautiful place,” the Washington Post reports the president stating as part of a 15-minute “roving tour” where he pointed out new artwork in the “very important room, very powerful room, great room.”
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R), discusses his decorating of the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
At one point Trump said, “We also painted the room a nice color: beige. It’s been really something.”
The president also said of the Cabinet Room light fixtures, “These lamps have been very important, actually,” and pointed out he added medallions on top of them.
The president also pointed to the Cabinet Room ceiling and asked assembled officials, “Will I gold-leaf the corners?”
He added, “It won’t look good because they’ve never found a paint that looks like gold. So painting it is easy, but it won’t look right.”
The president did a quick straw poll, with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both agreeing with Trump on the gold leaf option.
The White House has been contacted for an update on the status of the gold leaf on the ceiling.
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