Trump's Latest White House Makeover: The Lincoln Bathroom in Marble and Gold
By: Luke Broadwater (The New York Times)
Trump's bathroom was designed the same way Obamacare was designed. Throw money at it until people are so impressed they'll love it. Doesn't matter if it looks awful, doesn't work any better, needed far too many lies to sell it, and, in the end, turned out to be a money pit. It's outrageously expensive, totally unnecessary, and that makes it the best in the world.
Trump's marble clad, gold plated bathroom has a lot in common with Obamacare.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Trump is not stopping with the East Wing.
On Friday, Mr. Trump said he had renovated the bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom, posting two dozen photos on social media as he continues to remodel the White House in his own style.
Mr. Trump said the new design of black and white marble with gold faucets and light fixtures was "very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln."
The White House did not say, in response to questions, who paid for the renovation, how much it cost or which contractor built it.
The bathroom is only the latest remodel that Mr. Trump has undertaken at the White House, including the demolition of the East Wing. He has wide latitude as president to make changes, although critics have raised questions about the funding and lack of transparency.
President Harry Truman redid the bathroom in 1945, and Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized its style.
Speaking to donors this month, Mr. Trump called the bathroom's style "not good."
"Art Deco doesn't go with, you know, 1850 and civil wars and all of the problems," Mr. Trump said. "But what does is statuary marble. So I ripped it apart and we built the bathroom. It's absolutely gorgeous and totally in keeping with that time."
Edward Lengel, who served as the chief historian of the White House Historical Association, said of the photos Mr. Trump posted: "It doesn't look anything like 1860s interiors to me."
Michael F. Bishop, the former executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, said the bathroom was a sitting room in the president's day and was unlikely to have included marble.
"The present-day bathroom only takes up a portion of the Lincoln sitting room," Mr. Bishop said. "They created a bathroom in the corner of this room. Trump's change to the bathroom is not remotely a crime against historical preservation or anything like that. It was just a fairly dated-looking bathroom."
The historian Harold Holzer, the author of many books about Mr. Lincoln, said that when Mr. Lincoln moved into the White House in 1861, there were two water closets on the second floor, including one adjacent to the rooms where he lived with the family.
When Mary Todd Lincoln complained about the overall poor condition of the White House, Mr. Holzer said, he reminded her that it was better than any other house they had ever lived in.
"Lincoln had an outhouse in Springfield, and heaven knows what when he lived in log cabins with his parents, so the plain bathroom was fine with him," Mr. Holzer said. "He thought it was a majestic step up."
During his second term, Mr. Trump has wasted no time making changes to historical elements of the White House, arguing that parts of it are dated or too small. He tore down the entire East Wing, which had stood for more than a century, to make way for a planned 90,000-square-foot, $300 million ballroom that he said was necessary for receiving dignitaries.
His plans for the size of the ballroom continue to expand.
Mr. Trump has said that he and a group of donors — not the taxpayers — are footing the bill for the ballroom. His staff has released a list of donors, but has not said how much each one has given. The money is being deposited in the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit, tax-exempt entity that is not subject to transparency laws.
He also has added gold moldings and gold decorations throughout the Oval Office, and gold ornaments to the Cabinet Room. He cut down the White House's historic magnolia tree, which President Andrew Jackson planted in 1829 in memory of his wife, Rachel.
He removed a photo of Hillary Clinton and replaced it with an image of his own face colored with the American flag. He added marble floors and a chandelier to the Palm Room.
He paved over the Rose Garden grass to add a patio. Along the West Wing colonnade, he added gold-framed photos of every American president except his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr., whom he depicted as an autopen.
Mr. Trump and White House staff members say the president is granted wide latitude to make renovations on the property. Mr. Trump has said he is not subject to zoning regulations or permitting requirements.
Jennifer Schuessler and Zachary Small contributed reporting.
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world. In Trump's view that makes it the best.
Trump's design aesthetic is a metaphor for how Democrats and Republicans have been trying to bamboozle the public since Lady Bird Johnson Beautified America. Just look at how much money the government spends. Aren't you impressed?
A minor act that illustrates how Trump does not give one shit about history or the desire of people to preserve what can be preserved. There is no way to replace a tree that has lived in 1829 yet Trump just removes it.
This is a minor act. Trump operates the same way with major acts such as unilaterally demolishing the East Wing. And engaging in divisive, insulting rhetoric, imposing ridiculous sanctions, and harming the good faith of the USA in a way that might take decades to restore.
He is arguably the worst PotUS we have ever had to endure.
Are you really attacking Trump for removing a tree that arborists recommended removal as had reached the end of it's life and was a hazard?
No, but it was a perfect example of Trump's lack of concern. And if it was recommended to be removed, my point remains. As I noted, this is a minor act. There are plenty of minor and major acts by Trump the show with overwhelming evidence that my point is correct:
Trump does not give one shit about history or the desire of people to preserve what can be preserved.
Lie.
If it is a lie, it was not me lying. I took this from the seed.
Plus FFS it wasn’t planted by Jackson. It first appeared in the 1860’s
Look at you jump all over this as if you have some killer point (finally).
The seed then got this wrong. As I noted, this was a minor point anyway. There are plenty of absolutely solid examples (e.g. unilateral demolition of the East Wing).