During Tuesday's cabinet meeting while the press was in attendance, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump gave a rambling stream of consciousness speech that went all over the place before landing on paint versus gold leaf, leading people to again question the POTUS' mental acuity amid a notable cognitive decline.
In a disjointed monologue about the decor in the cabinet room, Trump said he stole a grandfather clock from Secretary of State Marco Rubio's office and chose a painting of James Polk because the frame matched the frame around his favorite President—Andrew Jackson.
You can watch a portion of Trump's rambling here:
After pointing out George Washington, Trump launched into a rambling diatribe about Presidents Eisenhower and FDR.
In just a brief part of his more than 11 minutes of speaking, Trump said:
"[Dwight Eisenhower] was the toughest President on immigration. He, uh, he was very strong at the borders. Very, very strong. And sometimes you could be too strong. He was strong at the borders. And during a certain period of time, they were so strong that almost every farmer in California went bankrupt."
"We have to remember that. We have to work together. We have to remember that. But he was a very good President and, uh, very good general and a very good President. And I thought he deserved a position on this floor."
Moving on to FDR, Trump said:
"And then you have, this is very exciting to me, uh, he was not a Republican to put it mildly, but he was, you know, he's a four termer. He was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And if you notice, there were a lot of ramps outside. You have ramp people say it's an unusual place for a ramp. It was because of him. He was, uh, wheelchair bound."
"Uh, but he was an amazing man. Uh, it's an amazing portrait. And we used to have him in the room, a different portrait. And it was a terrible portrait. It was almost like it was done by a child. And I used to say, you know, I can't believe that he would have approved of that portrait of himself."
"And I was in the vaults and looking at things. I said, 'What's that?'. And we have some great curators here. We have six curators at the White House. They have two for paintings. They have them for furniture. They have them for different things. I guess cost is no object. Okay. Cost is maybe, I'd have a– but that's all right. But we have six and they're very talented though."
"And he said, 'That's a picture of FDR.' I said, 'Really? Let me see it.' They took off the wrappings, very well preserved. And I said, 'That's the picture they've been looking for for years.' That was the picture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And I said, 'Oh, wow.'"
"And likewise, that fit frame wise. It just doesn't work. It doesn't work if you have, I want to be nice, but it doesn't work if you have a big frame, a little frame, and you– But it's like perfection. I'm a perfectionist."
Trump's inane rambling, false claims, and non sequiturs again raised questions about his fitness to remain in office.
Stream of consciousness speaking—when the individual says every thought that enters their head—and "word salad"—when thoughts are repetitive and/or disjointed—and tangential speech—when the individual has difficulty staying on topic—are signs of dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment.
But the presidential portraits were just part of Trump's monologue.
After talking about his "right" as President to take anything he likes from any federal government space, as well as the flags in the cabinet room, drapes, tchotchkes, false claims about how often stored items are rotated or cleaned, ceiling medallions for pendulum lights, the movies Pearl Harbor and Tora! Tora! Tora!, Trump moved on to his last design challenge.
He told the gathered press:
"We also painted the room a nice color, beige color. Uh, and it's been, uh, it's been really something. The only question is will I gold leaf the corners? You could maybe tell me my cabinet could take a vote."
"You see, you see the, you see the, top line moldings and the only question is do you gold leaf it because you can't paint it. If you paint it, it won't look good because they've never found a paint that looks like gold."
"You see that in the Oval Office. Uh they've tried for years and years. Somebody could become very wealthy, but they've never found a paint that looks like gold."
"So painting it is easy, but it won't look right. And the question is whether or not we should gold leaf it."
Trump then began asking various cabinet members and members of the press if they'd gold leaf the room's molding.
But he was soon off on a new rambling tangent about President McKinley, Mount Denali, Ohio, tariffs, and President Barack Obama.
Trump's personal style—as displayed in his Trump tower apartment and Mar-a-Lago—has been described as anything but tasteful. "Garish" and "gaudy" and "tacky" are the usual adjectives associated with his decor choices.
And his golden updates to the Oval Office, and the White House in general, are no different.
@elpunto/Bluesky
Reverse Midas has pimpedup the Oval Office.
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— Max B 💙 🔶 🇺🇦 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@maxbrockbank.com) March 17, 2025 at 10:35 AM
@localnotail/Bluesky
Gold cherubs from Mar-a-Lago were brought to the White House, as well as gold vases, urns, and a gold ‘Trump’ crest installed over the door leading into the White House.
There are also gold drink coasters with the president’s surname printed on them.