Donald Trump has spent his second term treating the White House like a personal renovation project. He’s made it painfully clear that he doesn’t tolerate anyone mocking his decor. So when the president faced reporters just days after a brutal midterm night for his party, many expected him to address the political wreckage. Instead, Trump steered the conversation right back to the one subject he never seems to tire of. Donald Trump defended his gold-heavy White House makeover days after Republicans lost control of Congress. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images) What followed was a move that could outlast his presidency, a swipe at an old rival that had people doing double takes, and a fresh shot at another that proves he still hasn’t let go of a joke from weeks ago. The timing alone raised eyebrows. Voters handed Democrats control of both the House and the Senate on Nov. 3, with the party flipping seats in deep-red states and battlegrounds alike. Trump Has a Bizarre Explanation for Republican Election Losses, Then Makes a Promise Nobody Saw Coming ‘LAWYER UP!’: Trump Hides Behind Ballroom Beams as He Brushes Off Impeachment Threat, But One Dem Makes It Clear He Better Watch Out With Republicans no longer holding the gavel in either chamber, the next two years were already shaping up to look very different for the White House. But when Trump sat down with reporters two days later, his mind was clearly somewhere else. He talked about prestige. He talked about history. He talked about how the room he works in deserves to be treated. “The Oval Office is a place of victory. It’s a place of prestige,” Trump said. “See that beautiful white wall? There’s no gold in that.” The reason for the sudden fixation soon became clear. Trump had just signed a proclamation to make sure nobody could ever undo his handiwork. It designates the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room as national monuments, according to The Hill. Trump told reporters Congress would have to ratify the designation. He added that lawmakers must approve any major changes to either room. In practical terms, it would make it far harder for a future president to strip away the gold trim, gilded eagles and cherubs that have become a running punchline on late-night TV. Then a reporter mentioned who else had been laughing, and the president immediately snapped. “Hillary Clinton criticized your updates, the gold…” the reporter began. Trump interrupted the reporter before the question was even finished. “She did?” he shot back as if he had no idea. “I don’t like her house either. I know her house very well.” He took an oddly personal swipe at the woman he defeated in the 2016 presidential race. Clinton had blasted his gold-heavy makeover as tacky during an August appearance on Kara Swisher’s “Pivot” podcast. Trump had a fresh shot ready for Barack Obama, who more recently talked about gold additions “Obama doesn’t know about dirt and filth. And he doesn’t know about cracked stones. And he doesn’t know about broken windows,” he said in a clip that quickly made the rounds on X. “He’s probably fine with them. But I’m not.” Trump even vowed that if anyone “ever decides to come and start knocking down walls,” he would personally make sure it never happens. That’s a curious promise from the same president who had the East Wing torn down to make room for his ballroom. Social media users weren’t buying the president’s priorities. “Obama governed; Trump redecorates,” one person wrote. Another added, “Obama was a little more focused on running the country; not HGTV,” a nod to Obama’s earlier crack that Trump belongs on the home-improvement network. “I don’t know if you noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV!” Obama joked. Others zeroed in on the Clinton remark. “Except this is not his house,” one user pointed out, while another joked, “10 years and Trump won’t accept the break up.” A third offered a warning: “Trump says the exterior of the White House is not gold. Not yet.” The decor drama has been building for weeks. At a late-October campaign stop in Cleveland, Obama also joked that Trump has the White House “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” Trump erupted in response, calling Obama a “lousy president” and insisting he had restored the building with “the finest artisans in the world.” The feud has even played out on the walls of the White House itself, where Trump has made room for a shrine to his grudge against his predecessor. Hillary isn’t the only Clinton taking aim at the renovations, either. Bill Clinton told press last week that someone should have stopped Trump before he made irreversible changes to the White House. Those changes include paving over the Rose Garden and building a ballroom that dwarfs the rest of the building, the Irish Star reported. Congress must still approve the monument designation. Democrats now control both chambers, leaving its fate uncertain. But one thing is clear… the jokes aren’t stopping, and neither is Trump’s need to answer every single one of them. Trump: "Obama doesn’t know about dirt and filth. And he doesn’t know about cracked stones. And he doesn’t know about broken windows. He’s probably fine with them. But I’m not." https://t.co/1voIhZaffx— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 5, 2026 Trump Fires Back at Obama Again Over ‘Cheesecake Factory’ Makeover, Then One Question About Hillary Clinton Sets Him Off ...read more read less