On Sunday, US President Donald Trump posted video highlighting the rich gold ornamentation in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room. He called them "some of the highest quality 24 Karat Gold" and asserted that the visiting world leaders were left speechless by the spectacle.
On X, he emphasized the opulence, posting, "Some of the finest quality 24 Karat Gold applied to Oval Office and Cabinet Room of the White House."
The video showed gold-colored wall mouldings that seemed ready to be installed in the White House. Trump went on to add, "Foreign Leaders and everybody else, 'freak out' when they see the quality and beauty. Best Oval Office ever, in terms of success and look!!! " He signed off the post with, "President DJT."
The video made the rounds on the internet, generating criticism for its timing.
Numerous social media users pointed out that despite Americans having their own urgent problems—farmers losing property, millions threatened with losing healthcare and food stamps, and foreign wars in Ukraine and Gaza—it did not seem fitting for Trump to be concerned about luxury finishes in the Oval Office.
In March, on a tour of the Oval Office, Trump was asked by a Fox News host what the newly applied gold trimmings were about. He said that the space required "a little life" and added that it was difficult to make gold-colored paint look like actual gold, writes The Guardian.
A White House official told Fox News that all the gold trim—characterized as being of the finest quality—was bought and paid for personally by Trump.
While some White House ornamentation tends to be finished in white, many internet observers posited that the decorations probably had gold coat or gold leaf applied to them prior to installation.
Reporter Jon Keegan noted that the decorative medallions in the Oval Office bore a striking resemblance to inexpensive foam decorations sold on Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce platform, for as little as $1 each.
Earlier, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to the makeover as "a golden office for the golden age for both America and the Middle East," as reported by Rev.
