New York Times reporter Jonathan Swan on Thursday said President Donald Trump spends “an enormous amount of time” not on the typical duties of the nation’s leader but on something else entirely: White House decorations and renovations.
“We have a scene in the book where several aides are in the room for a highly classified defense briefing,” said Swan, who co-authored “Regime Change” with fellow Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Then, he briefly burst out into a chuckle in anticipation of the rest of the story.
“Sorry,” he said, then continued the anecdote:
“This guy walks in, like salt-of-the-earth kind of looking guy, and he’s holding up stone samples for the patio that Trump’s building at the Rose Garden. It’s just like, extremely classified, sensitive, national security meeting, this guy just walks in ― he’s clearly got, essentially, walk-in privileges to the Oval.”
Not only did this person get to interrupt the classified national security meeting, but Trump got up, walked out to the Rose Garden, and started making phone calls related to the renovation.
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Trump last year paved over the Rose Garden, turning it into a “club” similar to the patio at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He’s also added gold embellishments all over the Oval Office ― some of which, Swan and Haberman reported, he superglued into place himself ― as well as gold details and signage just outside.
And last year, he had the entire East Wing knocked down as part of his plan to build a massive $600 million ballroom, which he has obsessed over publicly but is currently tangled up in legal action.
He’s also taken the lead on projects elsewhere in the capital, including the botched renovation of the Reflecting Pool, and plans to build a giant arch in the city.
Swan said there’s one simple reason for it all.
“He’s really just trying to put his imprint on Washington, D.C., in a permanent, durable way,” he said.