Trump gives Oval Office a makeover to reflect his ‘brand’

A gold coaster reading “TRUMP” sits on the table in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC.
| Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump promised a new “golden age” for the country. In the Oval Office, at least, he has lived up to his promise with a blingy makeover.

The Republican has decked out the inner sanctum of the U.S. presidency with gilded trophies and gold-plated, Trump-branded coasters, and filled almost every available inch of wall space with portraits of his predecessors.

Almost every day seems to bring something new. This week Mr. Trump installed a copy of the Declaration of Independence — the historic document triggering the country’s freedom from the British monarchy 250 years ago.

Far more than during his first term, it is as if the 78-year-old former reality TV star and billionaire property mogul is creating something that is part-studio and part-exclusive real estate.

One of Trump’s proudest touches, though, is a very unconventional portrait that hangs near those of his illustrious forebears. Right outside the Oval Office in a gold frame hangs a photo of Mr. Trump — his 2023 mugshot, as featured on the cover of a tabloid newspaper, from when he was booked in Georgia for alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election.

The ostentatious display should probably not come as a surprise for a man who announced his first presidential run by descending on a golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York.

The billionaire has long branded everything he can with his name, from buildings to Bibles.

Mr. Trump is even reportedly planning to pave over the famed Rose Garden that the Oval Office overlooks, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.