Meet Mar-al-Oval — A historic space transformed

Your editors at takenote.ca continue to search out every aspect, every nuance, every outrage generated by the Hitleresque antics of Don-Old 2.0. Today we turn our broken hearts and curious minds to the topic of White House interior design, specifically to Don’s redecoration of the historic Oval Office itself. We are assisted in our quest by Glee Violette and by CNN.

Every president makes their private (and to an extent, public) White House space their own, but wow, recently I have scratched my head while watching press conference and executive order signing events broadcast from the Oval Office, wondering what room I was looking at. The backdrop keeps changing. Increasingly the room has appeared more cluttered by the day. Portraits everywhere, though thankfully not all of 45/47 himself, the only limit being wall space. Additionally, if all that glitters is not gold, both are increasingly evident throughout the oval room, each piece crying out for affection and adoration as is the present office holder. He loves gold; it’s his favourite colour; looking now for gold socks or slacks; these are possibly saved for the Mar-a-Lago golf course.

Speaking of Mar-a-Lago, can you guess how much a round trip costs, White House to Mar-a-Lago? For a normal human a trip will set you back a few hundred dollars travelling by bus, car or budget air. Considerably less than an Alaska Cruise from Seattle to Anchorage. Buyer beware however. If air travel is your choice, hope and pray that enough air traffic controllers and emergency ground staff are available. Many have been laid off, including some nuclear weapons managers who cannot be rehired because America’s favourite Muskovite destroyed their personal files and they cannot be located for the purposes of re-employment. Some are now selling donuts (CDN: doughnuts!) in Maritime Canada, a worthy endeavour I must say.

For AirForce ONE travelers the cost is around $3.4M round trip. Thank goodness he can bring back trinkets for Oval Office display. The only reason that Musketeer Elon allows this extravagance is that he gets to travel with him. Trump, trinkets, and Musk; great value for money I say. I just hope that Space-X doesn’t blow it out of the sky.

Many ask, wouldn’t it be smarter to use Camp David which is closer? US presidents have used Camp David variously over the years, some more than others. Grump prefers his own palace at Mar-a-Lago which is great, as he likely needs the income to cover costs for his money-losing golf course. (Remember, all his golf courses lose money.) It’s the cost of doing business. Speaking of business, let’s get back to it. What does the Oval Office look like these days?

[CNN reports] “that the Oval Office has tripled the amount of gold framed portraits. Almost every square inch of wall space has been covered in oil portraits of founding fathers or former presidents; in some places, their frames are almost touching as they compete for space.

He’s removed some of the room’s more iconic features, including the Swedish ivy that used to sit above the fireplace. The plants are descended from cuttings originally gifted to John F. Kennedy by the Irish ambassador to the US. On the mantle now are seven gold artifacts. He has also had huge gold medallions added to the face.

The Resolute Desk, gifted by Queen Victoria and crafted from timbers of an Arctic exploration vessel, was sent off for refurbishment last month [the day after a certain small child wiped his boggers on it.] A smaller desk with elaborate gold handles has taken its place temporarily.

Next to it, a placard showing the body of water he’s renamed the “Gulf of America” sits permanently on an easel. Gold cups sit in recesses above the windows and along the wall.

Simple wooden side tables have been replaced by showier, marble-topped consoles, with gilded eagles on the base holding up bronze busts. There are gilded Rococo mirrors on the doors, and, nestled in the pediments above the doorways, diminutive gold cherubs shipped in from Mar-a-Lago. Even the remote control for the television down the hall is wrapped in gilt.

[Yes, this is the remote to the TV in the small dining room, where he watched the insurrection unfold as the Capitol was attacked on January 6th 2021 by his followers, who smashed in the doors and windows, stole whatever they could grab, wiped their feces on the walls, hunted legislators with handcuff ties, threatened the Vice President with hanging, and injured 138 officers – 73 Capitol Police and 65 Metropolitan Police – with five deaths resulting.]

A heavy-looking gold paperweight sits on the coffee table, the presidential seal engraved on top and the word “TRUMP” stamped on the side. His gilded collection grows weekly — he spends most weekends at Mar-a-Lago and often returns aboard Air Force One with a new showpiece for the Oval Office.”

[Ken Gray] Always seeking to engage as well as inform (and sometimes entertain] here at takenote.ca I ask you, dear reader, one simple question. Don’t hold back. What do you think Donny should add to the Oval Office next? I close today’s reflection with a delightful image, a fresh perspective on the Oval Office itself.

Keep smiling folks; and Resist, Resist, Resist.

UPDATE: Where is the Oval Office Ivy? Read in the Washington Post here.