President Trump said he personally intervened to stop the Secret Service from demolishing the Oval Office, according to an interview with Time magazine published Thursday. Trump recounted that he noticed agents surveying the historic West Wing room and asked what they were doing. “Sir, we think the Oval Office should be taken down, and we’ll build a new one, sir,” Trump recalled them saying. He said he responded forcefully: “My a—, you can’t build a new one. This is a special place.”
The president’s remarks came in response to a question about what he would miss most about the White House when he leaves office at the end of his second term. He pointed to the Oval Office as the irreplaceable centerpiece of the executive mansion. “This beautiful room that nobody should be allowed to rip down,” he said. “The Oval Office.”
Trump has extensively remodeled the Oval Office during his tenure, adding gold appliques, gold frames, and gold trim to the crown molding. He also accented the presidential seal on the ceiling with gold and installed gold signage outside the door reading “The Oval Office.” In the interview, he said he has been considering designating the room as a federal landmark. “I’ve been asking Susie for six months to give me a statement. Will we save this room? Will we make it a federal landmark?” Trump said, referring to chief of staff Susie Wiles.
While Trump has fought to preserve the Oval Office, he has overseen significant alterations elsewhere on the White House grounds. Last October, he demolished the East Wing to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. He paved over the Rose Garden, adding tables and chairs, and renovated the Palm Room. Along the West Wing Walkway and Colonnade, he added gold-framed photos of past presidents and replaced the flooring with dark granite.
The president also modified the Cabinet Room, installed flags on the North and South lawns, and added a helipad. In the interview, he described the White House before his changes as a “dump” that he fixed up. “The White House is a very special symbol,” he said. “It’s a symbol of America. It’s a symbol of our greatness.”
Trump added: “And I said, ‘I got to fix it.’ And I do that better than anybody else. Maybe I do it better than anything I do, and it’s easy for me. It’s actually relaxing. You know, for a lot of people, it drives them crazy.”
The president’s comments come amid a series of high-profile disputes over historic preservation and naming rights. Recently, Trump refused to rule out demolishing the Kennedy Center in a naming fight, and a federal appeals court blocked his name from being carved at the USIP. Meanwhile, a judge dismissed a lawsuit by Jan. 6 officers over a Capitol plaque, and another case against an Olympian was ended by a D.C. judge citing Trump pressure risk.
Trump’s stewardship of the White House has drawn both praise and criticism, but he remains steadfast in his belief that his renovations have enhanced the iconic residence. “I do that better than anybody else,” he said, underscoring his personal investment in the property’s appearance.
