President Donald Trump is putting his “touches” on the White House with new flagpoles, new artwork, an overhaul of the Oval Office decor and possibly covering up the lawn in the Rose Garden.
Trump, a former real estate developer and hotelier, said Wednesday that he’s adding two “beautiful” flagpoles to the grounds to fly the American flag in about a week.
The Republican president recently hung new artworks featuring himself, including a rendering of him with his fist raised after last year’s attempted assassination in Pennsylvania. He has redecorated the Oval Office by adding portraits of all of his predecessors, a wall-mounted copy of the Declaration of Independence that is shielded by dark drapes and many golden accents.
Trump has also talked about paving over the lawn in the Kennedy-era Rose Garden.
He even remarked on the grass on Wednesday, telling reporters he recalled a recent event where “the grass was very wet and it was very hard for people to stand on the grass. They got their shoes all ruined.”
All families granted the privilege of living in the White House try to find ways to leave their mark on the property, and Trump isn’t any different.
Near the end of his first term, he and first lady Melania Trump unveiled a refurbished tennis court and a new pavilion on the south grounds. Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden is still producing.
But Trump is a “real estate developer at heart” and is always looking to improve the White House, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.
New flag poles
Earlier Wednesday, Trump took an impromptu stroll outside toward the Pennsylvania Avenue fence with head groundskeeper Dale Haney and other staff members. Asked what he was doing, Trump said he was scoping out a location for a flagpole.
He told reporters afterward that he’s installing two “beautiful” flagpoles on the grounds because “they’ve needed flagpoles for 200 years.” He said the poles would be “paid for by Trump” and could be installed as soon as next week.
The American and POW/MIA flags fly on the roof of the White House every day. Trump had them lowered on Monday after Pope Francis’ death.
Oval Office overhaul
Trump pledged in his inaugural address to preside over a “golden age of America.” But he appears to have ushered it first into an Oval Office he has redecorated by adding golden accents to the fireplace, doorway arches, walls and other areas of the room. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I really must say the Oval Office has never looked better,” Paul Atkins, the new Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, said Tuesday after his ceremonial swearing-in there. “One could really describe it as glistening, and I’ve heard stories about it. It’s true. It’s the touch of a confident president, leading with optimism towards an American golden age.”
Every president adjusts the office decor to their liking, often with new furniture, rugs, draperies and other items. Some hire decorators. Former President Joe Biden had one of his brothers handle it.
Trump seems to have directed the process himself.
“I’ve done some ‘Trump touches’ to the Oval Office,” he told the championship Ohio State football team when he invited them for a tour after he hosted the players and coaches last week. “It’s a little nicer than it used to be, I think.”
New Trump art
Earlier this month, Trump hung a portrait depicting a moment after last summer’s assassination attempt, thereby bumping the official portrait of former President Barack Obama to another wall in the foyer.
The new painting was donated by Andrew Pollock, who lost his daughter Meadow in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Another image of Trump now hangs on the ground floor between the official portraits of former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.
Revealed in a social media post by first-year Rep. Jimmy Patronis, a Florida Republican, the image of Trump features the red, white and blue of an American flag superimposed over the president’s headshot on a black background.
The White House on Wednesday confirmed that the image is real.
Rose Garden
Trump also wants to pave over the lawn in the famous Rose Garden, which was created during the administration of John F. Kennedy after he was inspired by gardens he saw during a 1961 state visit to France.
Presidents have long used the space for everything from big announcements to Thanksgiving turkey pardon ceremonies.
He shared his plan with Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham as he showed her the Oval Office while taping an interview in March. The Rose Garden is just outside and Trump complained about the lawn always being “soaking wet” and inconveniencing “the women with the high heels.”
“The grass just, it doesn’t work,” Trump told Ingraham, adding that it would be covered with “gorgeous stone.”
Ingraham asked if the roses would stay. Trump said they would.
“It’s a rose garden. All of this stays,” he said, explaining that only the lawn would be affected. “I think it’s going to be beautiful. I think it’s going to be more beautiful.”
Paving over the lawn would mark the second makeover of the space under Trump.
In 2020, Melania Trump announced an update of the garden, with the most visually striking change being the addition of a 3-foot (0.91-meter)-wide limestone walking path bordering the central lawn. Less noticeable alterations included improved drainage and infrastructure, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Audiovisual and broadcasting fixes were also made.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.