President Donald Trump had a lighthearted but pointed exchange with a camera operator after an antique mirror was accidentally bumped during his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, Oct. 20.
“You better watch that. You’re not allowed to break that,” Trump said in a C-SPAN video, drawing laughter from others in the White House Cabinet Room.
“That mirror is 400 years old. A camera just hit the mirror,” he added, shaking his head with an “ay-yi-yi” of dismay.
“I just moved it up here, special from the vaults, and the first thing that happens — a camera hits it. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Hard to believe, but these are the problems in life,” Trump continued.
Trump has recently made several changes to the White House décor. In August, he moved former President Barack Obama’s official portrait from the Grand Foyer to the Grand Staircase, an area out of public view. Earlier in his presidency, he even placed his framed mugshot alongside other presidential portraits — a move many of his supporters embraced as a symbol of defiance.
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In September, Trump revealed plans for renovations to the Palm Room and the Rose Garden, which he renamed “The Rose Garden Club at the White House.” He also added a new patio, replacing part of the Kennedy-era lawn.
This wasn’t the first time Trump’s interior updates became a topic during foreign meetings. While speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in May, he pointed out new gold accents in the Oval Office. “It becomes more and more beautiful with love—you know we handle it with great love—and 24-karat gold, that always helps too,” he said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump had enlisted his Mar-a-Lago “gold guy,” cabinetmaker John Icart, to add gold detailing throughout the residence — from gilded carvings on the fireplace mantel to a gold Trump crest in the doorway and even gold coasters bearing his name.
Despite the momentary interruption, the meeting with Albanese covered substantial ground, including a framework for rare-earth mineral development, The New York Times reported. The two leaders signed a $3 billion agreement to expand mineral supply chains and counter China’s market dominance, as well as discussed progress on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.
Later in the day, the Senate reconvened to continue voting on legislation to end the ongoing government shutdown.
