President Donald Trump‘s latest Fox News interview took an intriguing turn when he was asked to address online rumors that his extravagant “24-karat gold” Oval Office decorations are in fact painted plastic appliques from Home Depot.
Trump, 79, welcomed Fox News host Laura Ingraham into the newly revamped Oval Office during a wide-ranging sit-down in which he discussed everything from his 50-year mortgage plan to immigration.
But when the two took a break from the more hard-hitting talking points, Trump took the opportunity to proudly show off the changes he has made to his primary working space at the White House—showing off the many gilded embellishments he has added to the historic room.
“You know the one thing with gold?” he said while flaunting the lavish renovations. “You can’t imitate gold, real gold. There’s no paint that imitates gold.”
Ingraham, 62, then pushed Trump further, asking him: “So these aren’t from Home Depot or something?”
“No this is not Home Depot stuff,” the president responded. “This is not Home Depot.”
The Fox News host posted the short clip on her social media accounts, captioning it: “In the Oval Office with President Trump and can confirm that it is REAL gold!”
Trump’s confirmation that the additions to the Oval Office are “real gold” comes after a frenzy of speculation broke out online that the White House upgrades were nothing more than cheap imitations designed to mock the appearance of the precious metal.
Many pointed to one particular motif that very closely resembles a $58.07 polyurethane applique that is available on Home Depot’s website.
Those rumors were further fueled when a spokesperson for the design company behind the appliques, Ekena Millwork, told Buzzfeed that they believe their products could well have been used in the White House renovations.
“We work with several design firms in DC that have worked on the White House and believe these could be our onlays,” the spokesperson said.
Ironically, the design that many believe is identical to the moldings used in the Oval Office has since sold out the Home Depot website.
It is not the first time that Trump’s White House renovations have caused a stir online—with some hitting out at the president for his “out of touch” emphasis on aesthetic upgrades at a time of such economic volatility, particular in light of the government shutdown, which has denied millions their SNAP benefits.
Other critics have slammed Trump for making such significant changes to such a historic room in the White House, particularly after he also made several dramatic updates to the building’s facade and structure.
The backlash began in March, just two months after his inauguration, when Trump announced plans to pave over the historic White House Rose Garden, telling reporters that he wanted to make the events space safer for guests, particularly women in heels.
“You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conference and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he said during a March interview on Fox News. “The terrain can be wet, and the soft ground can be an issue for some. Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”
Despite the backlash over the plans, Trump pressed on with his redesign of the outdoor space, with images taken in June revealing that the grass had been ripped up and replaced with gravel.
The completed paved area was later filled with tables, chairs, and yellow-and-white umbrellas that many noted were almost identical to those used poolside at Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.
As part of the redesign, the Rose Garden has been outfitted with new drainage systems to prevent water from pooling at its center.
Work on the historic garden began June 9, when employees of the National Park Service began removing a limestone border that had been installed by Trump’s wife, Melania, 55, during his first term in office.
The renovation quickly progressed, with images taken on June 17 and June 18 revealing that the entire lawn had been ripped up by bulldozers—as well as several poles that were under the ground—before gravel was laid across the entire surface.
Despite Trump’s insistence that the garden renovation was entirely necessary, the project has sparked some backlash from critics, who insist that the “removal” of such an important piece of White House history is disrespectful.
“White House Rose Garden gone. Absolutely crazy,” one such person wrote in a post shared on X.
“To remove Kennedy’s Rose Garden is removing a piece of our White House history. And for a patio,” another person chimed in.
“Melania and Donald Trump are ruining the White House Rose Garden once again. They’re deporables,” one other person posted.
However, a White House spokesperson insisted to People that Trump and his wife have “the deepest respect for the history of the White House and the Rose Garden,” adding: “This restoration to the Rose Garden preserves the beauty of the space and builds on the work done in 2020, with a focus on enhancing practical use and guest experience for those attending special events.”
Trump prompted further fury from critics when it was revealed that his $300 million plan to outfit the White House with a new ballroom would require the complete demolition of the building’s East Wing.
Initially, Trump had insisted that the addition of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would not interfere with the existing structure, telling reporters in July: “It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it but not touching it—and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”
However, those plans are understood to have changed after a meeting with architects revealed there would not be enough space for the planned ballroom without the destruction of the East Wing.
During his interview with Ingraham, the president once again defended the project, telling the Fox News host that the East Wing “looked like hell” when it was torn down—noting that the ballroom will be a much grander addition to the White House.
“The East Wing was a beautiful, little, tiny structure that was built many years ago that was renovated and expanded and disbanded and columns ripped out—and it had nothing to do with the original building,” he said.
“It was a poor, sad sight, and I could have built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been—we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world.”