- Changes include adding gold fixtures to the Oval Office, replacing the Rose Garden with a courtyard, and installing tall flagpoles.
- The historic East Wing was demolished to construct a large, opulent ballroom funded in part by major corporations and private donors.
- Historians and the public have expressed disapproval of the changes, citing concerns over historical preservation and cost.
Tall flagpoles, a courtyard, gold fixtures and now a massive ballroom — is President Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago-ing the White House?
When Trump was the nation’s 45th president, his Palm Beach club served as the “Southern White House.” The president hosted summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and leaders of Central American nations. It was reported that a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, or SCIF, was available at Trump’s opulent club and residence to accommodate high security discussions.
Now, as the 47th president, it is the White House that is beginning to resemble a northern Mar-a-Lago. Trump has redecorated the Oval Office with gold fixtures and decor, put a courtyard where a fabled garden once stood, added tall flag poles to the executive mansion’s exterior and has torn down the historic East Wing to build a vast ballroom.
Here are five things to know.
Trump turns the Oval Office gold
The Oval Office now sports a lot of gold decor. The presidential seal is embossed in gold, as well as the trimming in the ceiling and doorway thresholds. Gold pieces line the fireplace mantle, and the walls as well, where ivy used to be the decorative element. Trump has also added more paintings of presidents — within golden frames.
The use of gold in the president’s main office resembles the golden touches at Mar-a-Lago that go beyond ballrooms and member spaces to include bathroom sinks and even toilet paper covers.
Trump remade parts of the White House in the same gilded image as Mar-a-Lago with the help from a Florida man who handled the gold accents at Trump’s Florida club and residence.
Cabinetmaker John Icart from Jupiter became known as Trump’s “gold guy” and was enlisted to take charge of much of the gold decoration in the White House.
Rose Garden paved over for courtyard patio
In the spring, Trump cemented over the iconic Rose Garden planted by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the early 1960s. In its place, a new seating area with tables now stands. The new area resembles a courtyard patio dining area at Mar-a-Lago.
Three: Two tall flag poles
After buying Mar-a-Lago, Trump installed an 88-foot flag pole at the Palm Beach compound. A $25 million lawsuit followed as the town of Palm Beach balked at what Trump called a patriotic display. The litigation was settled with Trump being allowed an 80-foot flagpole on the property that displays a car dealership-size, 375-square-foot U.S. flag.
In June, Trump added two 88-foot-tall flagpoles at the White House, one in front of the executive mansion and the other on the South Lawn.
Out with the East Wing, in with an extravagant ballroom
In October, the president ordered the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a ballroom that renderings suggest is remarkably similar to the Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
The plan, first unveiled in July, calls for a 90,000-square-foot venue for formal events, including state dinners, with capacity for about 900 people. That would be larger than the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, but equally as opulent.
It would be a rectangular space with chandeliers and golden touches, much like the space at the Palm Beach club.
The East Wing ballroom is estimated to cost about $300 million, and some of the country’s largest tech and crypto companies, as well as some with Florida connections, will be helping to foot the bill.
Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple are among a list of donors the White House said is paying for the addition.
Donors with strong connections to Palm Beach also reported to be contributing to the ballroom include Stephen Schwarzman, the Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation, J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation.
NextEra Energy, the Juno Beach-based parent company of Florida Power & Light, and Hard Rock International, a global company owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and based in Davie, Florida, also are said to be kicking in part of the cost.
The president said he would pitch in on costs, but the White House has not disclosed how much of his own money he would spend on construction.
Trump also has sought to redesign Air Force One
During his first term in office, Trump sought to redesign the color scheme on Air Force One.
The current color design of Air Force One is mostly robin’s egg blue and has been used since it was first suggested by first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
The new look envisioned by Trump would sport a red, white and blue palette in tones very much like the president’s private aircraft, dubbed Trump Force One.
Boeing was supposed to replace the current aging Air Force One planes with two new ones, but it has faced significant delays, cost overruns, and supply-chain issues. The delivery date for the new planes, originally set for 2024, has been pushed back repeatedly, with current projections placing the first delivery in mid-2028 or later.
Trump also accepted a Boeing 747-8 as a gift from the Qatari royal family for use as a temporary presidential aircraft, a move that sparked controversy. Estimates to retrofit the luxury jet with necessary security and communication equipment could cost hundreds of millions, possibly over $1 billion.
Historians, public not impressed with Trump’s White House makeover
Historians have expressed a myriad of reactions to the president’s White House changes. They lamented the paving over of the Rose Garden and the destruction of the East Wing, which dated back to the beginning of the 20th century and served as the offices for first ladies.
They have also expressed concern over the lack of oversight from and compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Some are dismayed with the “monarchical” decor they say is inconsistent with the “people’s house” theme.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released in late October found 56% of respondents opposing the ballroom project with just 28% in support. A Yahoo/YouGov survey released at about the same time also found 61% disapproving and only 25% approving the East Wing teardown.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
