The tackification of the Oval Office

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The Washington Post actually has an article on the tackification of the Oval Office

Curious about the tackification of the Oval Office, I skimmed the official White House photo feed. As it turns out, the gold elements in the room were added slowly, not all at once. Photos in my (free to read) newsletter.
s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...

— Philip Bump (@pbump.com) 2025-05-05T15:21:40.072Z

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https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/

As I was writing it, I realized that a companion piece might be warranted. Among the less-important ways in which Trump is subverting tradition is his gaudy overhaul of the seat of American power: the Oval Office itself.

Consider this image, for example, showing Trump meeting with staff including his soon-to-be-former national security adviser Michael Waltz. It was taken on April 30, the day before Waltz’s ouster. Gold trim and appliqués are ubiquitous.


That photo prompted two questions. First, how different was it from the Oval Office during the Biden administration? Second, when did the change occur? My search for answers led me to official photos posted to the sharing site Flickr (remember Flickr?), where I learned that the answers to those questions were “very” and “slowly.”

Let’s start with the photo below, which shows President Joe Biden welcoming Brittney Griner’s wife to the Oval Office in 2022. Notice the doorway and bookshelves on the back wall. Neither has any visible gold.

....By early February, little splashes of gold started to appear. In the nooks above the bookshelves, gold vases were put on display. Some sort of gold figurine was placed above the door’s transom.


By late March, Trump was settling in. The pictures near Ronald Reagan’s portrait had changed. A portrait of Andrew Jackson and its brownish frame had been swapped out for a gilded one — and another portrait with a thick gold frame was crammed into a formerly empty space.

.....
You can see the full effect in the photo below, taken on April 10. But the “improvements” weren’t done yet. See those two brown chairs against the wall to Trump’s back? Notice that the wall behind them is unadorned.


By April 16, that space on the wainscoting (lots of architecture terminology today!) had also broken out in gilded hives.



By April 22, the trim around the door — and the bindings on the ornamental fasces (ahem) above it — had also received a fresh coat of gold leaf.

trump truly has NO taste or sense of style and has ruined the Oval Office.

[malaise]

1. Rec for the

Guilded hives 😂

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. You need sunglasses in there.

Overdone and ugly.

[sop]

3. Trump's "new and improved" blinged out Oval office.

“'You see the new and improved Oval Office,' Trump said to Carney. 'As it becomes more and more beautiful with love — you know we handle it with great love — and 24-karat gold, that always helps too'...Yes, love and 24-karat gold leaf has indeed transformed the Oval. Who needs dignified classicism when you can make one of the most famous rooms on the planet look like an overstuffed and inbred cousin of Versailles? Trump has decked out every mantle and surface he can see with gold-plated vases, moldings, and reliefs of a canary yellow that screeches nouveau riche petulance at all who behold it."

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-brags-gold-plated-office-tariffs-1235332861/

Someone, anyone...please make it stop, I can't take it any longer.

[Ocelot II]

10. "A canary yellow that screeches nouveau riche petulance at all who behold it."

Perfect.

[Karadeniz]

4. New Orleans whore house.....

[sop]

5. Looks like Silky the Pimp moved into the White House.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. These Before And After Images Of The Oval Office Are Going Viral

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

7. He made the Oval Office gold and gaudy, just like himself! 🤮

Link to tweet

[highplainsdem]

8. Politico article from 2017: Trump's Dictator Chic

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/trump-style-dictator-autocrats-design-214877/

[Ping Tung]

9. Why isn't the Ronald Reagan painting on black velvet?

[rurallib]

11. He'll probably want to take it with him when we kick him out

[Ocelot II]

13. He can have it.

[Meowmee]

12. What's with all the gold 😹

I guess they are trying to copy his homes etc.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. Donald Trump is so damn tacky. Look at what he's done to the Oval Office.

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Have you ever seen so much tacky gold shit in your life? It looks like a St. Petersburg flea market

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