Good God in Butter what is going on with the mantle and tables in the Oval Office? Tacky ass shit.

[Botany]

Link to tweet

Are those golf trophies and what are those things mounted above the fireplace? They
look like $5 for the both of them @ a yard sale crap. And the gold leaf on tables by the
fireplace is tacky as shit. You can’t buy style or class.

Never mind that we are now stuck with an outdated airplane that Qatar has been trying to
get rid of for years that will cost America millions of dollars. I wonder how much the Qatar
government or some Oligarch paid Trump to take it off their hands?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. The tackification of the Oval Office

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

Link to tweet

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.

[Walleye]

4. He's just got to have more cowbell

[madinmaryland]

12. Gold plated cowbell.

[Walleye]

19. Perfect!

[Hekate]

25. It's gone from the restrained elegance of the original architecture to rococo whorehouse

Is flocked & mirrored wallpaper next?

Dear Lord, may I live long enough to see at least this part of trump’s damage undone.

[Bo Zarts]

2. A friend of mine did faux-gilding at Mar-A-Lago about 25 years ago. Trump loves "gold."

My friend never got paid.

[democrank]

3. What a complete, embarrassing disgrace that White House criminal is.

So rude, so full of himself

[rsdsharp]

5. He also has every square inch of wall space covered in portraits.

The result is to turn the greatest power move on earth, the Oval Office, into a tacky, over decorated, embarrassing mess.

This guy has Elvis’ taste and a Mussolini mindset.

[Traildogbob]

6. Don't forget

There is a 6-7 foot, maybe taller with huge hands, golden statue of this freak that will be added to the “Sadam personal interior designer,” King room, for him to drool over. Step aside God, you are weak, and no longer the creator. Trump made everything. And remodeling us all in HIS image.
“Trump Bless AMERIKKKA” will be printed on our Coin of the Realm. Guessing it will all be that BIT shit trump is selling.

[Diamond_Dog]

7. Nauseating

[enid602]

8. Taste

&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.48ba824d628940d70fd6ae499dee0cb3%3Frik%3DJ0YGrVd7PU6I4w%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=438&expw=438&q=mary+trump+wild+hair&simid=608013743548728082&form=IRPRST&ck=7394D9981FA12D76F0C3789783D35721&selectedindex=2&itb=0&vt=1&sim=11&pivotparams=insightsToken%3Dccid_opURvjng*cp_5218B3CE6FB5DC3471C99B548C9BDC5F*mid_8F8CBBB7DAD6AEC7866544EC0359689F20F353ED*simid_608040398083929363*thid_OIP.opURvjngN7X0gTRgo!_ERdQHaE8&iss=VSI


The Trump tribe has always been known for its exquisite yet subtle taste.

[sop]

15. My French grandmother would derisively dismiss Trump as "un parvenu et un arriviste."

[enid602]

16. Mom

My American Mother would say of Trump’s mother: ‘See that mink stole she’s wearing? Sears.’

[spanone]

9. Fuck this president. He deserves zero respect. Treats the media like shit.

[sop]

10. "Right now we don't have a White House or an administration, we have a whorehouse at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,

and that's a fact." - Rick Wilson

Whorehouse decor AND whorehouse ethics.

[flvegan]

11. The enshittification of the White House. n/t

[Permanut]

13. I learn new words often on DU..

and this one is perfect

[LoisB]

14. IT is the king of tacky.

[fargone]

17. Today for the South African delegation

There was a model 747 sitting on the coffee table. I do not know if the assasination attempt scupture was still there

[bif]

18. Looks like it was designed by an Eastern European

Lady of the night.

[alterfurz]

20. "A man who is empty on the inside...

...must decorate himself on the outside." -- Bruce Lee

[electric_blue68]

23. I love 22k, 23k, 24k gold! But THIS?! Tacky, Ostentatious Overkill! 😑🙄

[LetMyPeopleVote]

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

Link to tweet

[electric_blue68]

22. Haahahahaaaa, you had me going through architectural terms. Finally, I found the term....

filigree scroll design(!) for the fancy raised design above the fireplace, and elsewhere on the walls.

So, about 3 - 4 weeks ago there I was (unfortunately) looking at a photo of drumphf in the Oval Office. I rarely look at his photos from any place.

The fireplace was in the background, and....
wait....

Is that...gold leaf on the filigree scroll??!
Wasn't that always painted white as the walls?

And now I see smaller floral scroll moldings I've never noticed before, with new gold leaf; in some of the photos you've added. Plus all the other architectural moldings, etc. 😑

Turns it (Oval Office) into "Imperial Palace" style, not The White House. 😬😑 Blargh!

[Vinca]

24. It looks like a flea market exploded.

[Jit423]

26. That shit looks so gross and tacky. Just like the folks who designed and approved it. nt

[yellowdogintexas]

27. This article gives the history of quite a bit of the gold items placed around the room

https://www.yahoo.com/news/growing-legend-missing-oval-office-171836112.html

The White House owns a collection of vermeil (silver plated with gold) items and have been stored in The Vermeil Room which houses the entire White House Collection. Some of it was purchased by presidents and some was gifted to the White House.

The history of the Vermeil Room and its contents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermeil_Room

Mrs Kennedy used some of the larger pieces as flower vases in rooms on the State Floor.

So some of the gold things are property of the White House, and some Trump brought up from Florida.

[H2O Man]

28. Recommended.

Awards he has given himself. Pathetic. But it is good to recognize how insecure he really is.

[Botany]

29. I think he has 2 of his golf trophies on the mantle.

Trophies that “he won” @ one of his golf courses by just playing a round of golf.

The man is a bag of mental illness as he tries to compensate for his own shortcomings.