3 days ago
How Donald Trump is transforming the white house with gold, flagpoles, and a $200 million ballroom
Source: Getty Images
Donald Trump has brought his trademark 'Trumpness' to the White House, loud, lavish, and impossible to ignore. Six months into his second term, he has already reshaped the mansion with towering flagpoles, a stone-paved Rose Garden, and plans for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
As he puts it, it's 'a great legacy project.'
Gold, flagpoles, and a paved Rose Garden
According to The Washington Post, Trump personally oversaw the design and installation of two massive flagpoles on the North and South Lawns. Their steel structure and tapered shape were chosen by him, and they now fly giant American flags visible to passengers landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Watching the work in June, Trump told reporters, 'I love construction.
I know it better than anybody.
'
The Rose Garden has undergone one of its most dramatic changes in decades. Grass has been removed and replaced with light-colored stone pavers, modeled after the patio at Mar-a-Lago. Presidential seals have been embedded into the stone, and even the drainage grates are designed as American flags. Explaining the change, Trump said, 'It's not a pretty sight… when it rains… the women with their lovely evening gowns… they're a mess by the time they get (there).
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According to the White House, these renovations were funded through private donations, though no price tag has been disclosed.
Ballroom that shines
The centerpiece of Trump's plan is still to come — a permanent ballroom off the East Wing. At 90,000 square feet, it would be the first major structural addition to the White House in decades, tripling the amount of indoor ballroom space. 'No president knew how to build a ballroom,' Trump said last weekend while meeting the European Commission president in Scotland.
'I could take this one, drop it right down there, and it would be beautiful.
'
Renderings released by the White House show gold and crystal chandeliers, gilded Corinthian columns, a coffered ceiling with gold inlays, gold floor lamps, and a checkered marble floor. Three walls of arched windows would overlook the South Grounds. The style, by Trump's own admission, is heavily inspired by the Louis XIV-style main room at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump says the $200 million price tag will be covered by himself and other private donors. 'It won't interfere with the current building,' he said this week. 'It'll be near it, but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of.'
Legacy built to last
While changes to the Oval Office's decor, such as the gold detailing and cherubs imported from Florida, could easily be reversed, the larger structural projects may endure.
As The Washington Post notes, removing the flagpoles might appear unpatriotic, tearing up the Rose Garden stonework would be expensive, and demolishing a nearly quarter-billion-dollar ballroom is unlikely.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the renovations: 'I've been coming to this building for 65 years and I have to say that it has never looked better.' For Trump, the motivation is as much about personal vision as history. 'This'll be a great legacy project,' he said. And, as with so many things in his career, he is determined to make it big, bold, and built to be remembered.
