President Donald Trump has been personally adding his own tacky gold decor around the Oval Office—using super glue.
New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, in their forthcoming bombshell book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, revealed that Trump appears to be calling all of the shots with the decor.
They reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt walked into the Oval Office one morning to find that Trump himself was putting up gold adornments. Leavitt found him with a bottle of super glue in his hand, busy adding new decorative items to the fireplace mantel.
“As he was known to prefer his own aesthetic handiwork to anyone else’s, the sight of the president squeezing glue onto gilded appliqués and mounting them on the wall himself surprised no one in his inner circle,” the authors wrote, in an excerpt released by The New York Times.
Oddly, despite his apparent obsession with decorating, Trump is said to have kept his own bedroom in a state of disarray, with staffers left cleaning up snack wrappers from his late-night binging. His penchant for carpets in the bathroom also forced staffers to try to prevent mold by placing an additional piece of carpet near the shower, which would be removed to dry while fresh pieces of carpet were swapped in, the book claims.
Melania, long rumored to reside separately, has reportedly been spared these conditions by staying in the master bedroom.
After returning to the White House last year, the Oval Office was quickly transformed to become Trump-ified, as golden decorations have been added to nearly every corner of the space, including gilded furnishings, curtains, and wall decals.
The exterior of the White House has also been covered with gold, as iconic rooms such as the Oval Office and Rose Garden have been labeled.
Trump has long been enamored of gold.
He has said he modeled his Mar-a-Lago golf club after the Palace of Versailles in France, which has more than 1,000 kilograms of 22-carat gold. His penthouse in Trump Tower in New York City is also completely decked out with golden decorations.
This week, Trump visited Versailles and was completely captivated by the golden decor.
“I’m a fan of beautiful places,” Trump said. “And Versailles is not a gold leaf. Versailles is the real deal.”
The golden decor in the White House and his properties stands alongside his collection of golden gifts that have been received during his second term.
These include his made-up FIFA Peace Prize, a 24-karat plaque from Apple CEO Tim Cook, a gold bar from Swiss business leaders, and a golden hockey stick, among other items.
