Donald Trump signed a proclamation Thursday that he said will prevent future administrations from changing the design of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, spaces he has declared national monuments that should be preserved.
Since his party suffered historic defeats in the midterm elections, the president appears to have turned his attention to the many renovation projects he has launched in the nation’s capital. Sitting behind the Resolute desk on Thursday, Trump declared the Oval Office a “national monument.”
“I’m going to sign a document that will make this a historic monument,” he told reporters in the gold-covered Oval Office.
According to the president, the proclamation would ensure that the West Wing rooms will not be “touched by anyone, destroyed, demolished by stupid people, in order to build something slightly different in shape.”
“I just thought it was very important that no one was allowed to come and take it apart and try to do something with it,” he said.
“Every once in a while they look and say, oh, maybe we’ll put a little better drink in or something, and I say no, you’re not going to do anything. We’re going to leave it as is,” he continued.
“If anyone ever decides to come and start tearing down walls, you will call me wherever I am, and I will come back here and make sure that never happens.”
Since returning to office, Trump has embarked on a series of White House “beautification” projects, including demolishing the East Wing to make way for a $600 million ballroom, as well as building a permanent granite helipad on the South Lawn.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president defended his extensive renovation work at the White House, saying the building’s exterior had suffered from years of deterioration. He pointed to cracked windows, damaged stonework and broken decorative features, saying he paid for the repairs and hired skilled workers to restore them.
“When you looked at this wall a year ago, it was badly damaged from years of service,” he said, adding that the exterior columns were also in “horrible condition.”
On the desk next to where he signed the proclamation was a red baseball cap emblazoned with the word “Veto” — an explicit reminder of his threat to block legislative priorities and bills passed by the new Democratic-controlled Congress next year.
Democrats made significant progress in several traditionally Republican states where Trump had already won, including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Iowa, campaigning on issues such as affordability and fighting corruption while securing control of Congress.
Trump’s opulent overhaul of the Oval Office has drawn criticism, including from former President Barack Obama, who recently joked that “he makes the White House look like Saddam Hussein opened a cheesecake factory. Just gold everywhere.”
Obama’s remark prompted a coordinated response from the White House, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appearing to retaliate by dining at a Cheesecake Factory.
In a final call before the midterm elections, Trump held a news conference highlighting the delayed results of his $14 million renovation of the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, while blaming Joe Biden for algae that had accumulated in its waters.
“It was the Biden era…Look, it’s not an easy thing. Algae is brutal. It forms easily. All you saw was dirt and grime and paper and everything else for years,” Trump said Monday.
Two days later, as the scale of his party’s staggering losses became visible, Trump led a media tour to the construction site of the White House ballroom, where he marveled at the upcoming renovations.
“It’s all a miracle,” he said.
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