About that White House ballroom and the East Wing

[wtg]

Just in case he forgets where/what it is.

A new sign was spotted adorning the White House this week, prompting backlash from lawmakers who have noted that Donald Trump is quite literally gilding the White House during a government shutdown.

Trump has been remaking the White House in his own image with the recent dramatic demolition of the East Wing and active construction of a new ballroom, doing so with plenty of gold. Written in cursive gold script, a sign identifying the Oval Office is now affixed beside the office’s door.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/05/trump-oval-office-sign

[Daniel]

Is this a joke? A 1st grade student could have done a better job.

[AndyD]

Looks like it's on paper, perhaps waiting for a signwriter to attend?
Whether you like the script or not, some things are unnecessary.

[Daniel]

And unseemly.

[wtg]

@AndyD said in About that White House ballroom and the East Wing:

some things are unnecessary

Including the gold monstrosity over the doorway....

[Bernard]

@wtg It looks like a bad DIY. Anyone with a bit of taste would have toned down the gold with antiquing wax. Well, put it this way.... anyone with a bit of taste wouldn't have put those cheap looking filigrees there in the first place.

[AndyD]

Corporate Trump I'm afraid. His taste appears to be extreme 'new money'.

[wtg]

Says it all.

edit: And no, it's not AI.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-37928024

[Daniel]

It might not be I but it's definitely A.

[wtg]

Next up: The Reflecting Pool?

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5623734-trump-burgum-fix-lincoln-pool/

[Daniel]

It's a front for a centralized command center. Nothing we've been told and shown about it makes sense to reputable architects and builders.

[Daniel]

@AndyD said in About that White House ballroom and the East Wing:

Corporate Trump I'm afraid. His taste appears to be extreme 'new money'.

I guess you had to be there but in '80's New York there were a group of new money families who were venerated to the nth degree.

Reagan came into office and the country was inundated with the myth of getting what you earned no matter who you were or how you started.

And, likewise, being to blame for any lack of opportunity or misfortune you might suffer.

None of these families lasted very long as others have in the past. Note Trump's multiple bankruptcies. Of course, Trump got nowhere on his own merits.

He grew up in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Queens. You can hear his Queens accent, but any notion of class clearly went over his head.