Caffeinated Politics

This summer, a younger friend who has spent time in Europe said the White House with Donald Trump in it looks like Versailles on steroids. I had to laugh, but also very much agree. The people’s home has undergone a grotesque transformation. What we had always known with the White House being a classy reflection of American democracy now features gold trim on the ceilings, doorways, and even the cherubs perched above the fireplace. The Resolute Desk, once a symbol of quiet strength and presidential resolve, is now flanked by golden coasters and Rococo mirrors. The artwork has been stripped of its stylish frames and replaced with gold gaudiness. As my friend says, you can always tell who has ‘new money, as opposed to old money that comes with refined tastes. No one has ever needed to write about people with refined thinking and include Donald Trump.

The White House has long been far more than a physical structure. It has served as a place of continuity for our shared values. It is a place of humility, public service, and a quiet dignity that transcends partisanship. It’s where Lincoln pondered the fate of a divided nation, where Roosevelt steered us through the dreadful Second World War, and where Kennedy pondered the space race and man’s place on the moon. It’s not supposed to look like a casino lobby or a Mar-a-Lago showroom where whores pour drinks. It should not house a convicted rapist or a bed hopper looking for a rich man who posed naked for a magazine. But then, those are just my moral values and views that guide me in life. Republicans have proven to have a far different orange compass they follow.

(Below is a photo of the White House in 2024 and the bordello look in 2025.)

The iconic space in this home has been drenched in gold. Everything from curtains to vases, frames, trophies, platters, and vast amounts of gilding on shiny curlicued moldings to the toilets. Trump’s sycophants say the gold adds “life” to the building. I had to laugh when Vice President Vance claimed his son, age five, loves it because gold is his favorite color. But we should not design the White House to mimic the kid’s idea of a favorite playroom. In this House resides the seat of executive power in the world’s oldest democracy. Our national character should be on display. Not the cathouse hues that are at the center of Trump’s squalid character.

We are aware that Trump has a very limited understanding of many topics; history is just one of the most glaring. So, when I write that what he has done to the White House is tacky, gaudy, and an embarrassment, they are more than just adjectives conveying a visual fact. They are also based on American history. The White House was never meant to mimic European royalty. Our founders rejected monarchy for a reason. They built a republic grounded in common sense, not gold leaf. The original design of the White House was Federalist, restrained, and here is what Trump fails to grasp —–elegant. Even the Rose Garden, once a serene space for reflection and diplomacy, has been destroyed by this profoundly uncouth error of DNA..

I admit that what has sadly happened to our White House is a real reflection of Trump. The core of who he is far more resembles gilded toilets than a man who understands that true power lies in service, not spectacle. Or that serious contemplations and virtuous actions must transcend the lust for greed, continuous flattery, and ego-stroking.

I was at the White House in 1987, and the memory of what for me was a dream remains clearly in my mind. Traditional tasteful furniture, warm woods, soft lighting, and historical portraits were designed to speak of the shared narrative of the nation. The home was filled with dignity. But again, dignity and Trump are not words that have ever overlapped. There are so many stains that will need to be bleached away due to Trump. I look forward again to the time when the soul of our nation is projected from the White House.