President Donald Trump continues to leave his personal mark on the White House.
This month, while hosting world leaders in the West Wing, the president showcased a section of one room featuring a display of MAGA merchandise. The collection includes Trump-branded books, water bottles, cufflinks, and more, along with numerous baseball caps sporting slogans like “Trump 2028” and “Trump Was Right About Everything.”
The display first appeared in the background of a video when Trump welcomed the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to the White House on Aug. 9. It gained wider attention after the White House hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders on Aug. 18.
Margo Martin, Trump’s special assistant and communications advisor, shared a photo on X showing the president presenting Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron with a red baseball cap reading “4 More Years.”
While the White House does have an official gift shop for visitors, established by President Harry S. Truman in 1950, Trump’s setup appears to be a display of his personal collection.
The merchandise corner is just one example of how Trump is adding his own touches to the White House, making it feel more like a D.C. version of his Mar-a-Lago club.
This week, the newly paved White House Rose Garden was updated with new patio furniture, including yellow-and-white striped umbrellas. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the pieces were sourced from the same supplier Trump uses for his Palm Beach resort.
During a tour of the redesigned Rose Garden ahead of its reopening, a reporter asked if first lady Melania Trump—who oversaw the rose bushes’ redesign in 2020—was “cool with the overall patio.” Leavitt replied, “She is. I believe so, yeah,” adding that the president “loves it, clearly.” Trump was reportedly playing his own music over the outdoor speakers as a test for “the best event in White House history.”
Trump has also faced criticism for adding new portraits of himself to the White House walls, moving previous presidents out of public view, as well as redesigning the Oval Office.
An April report in The Wall Street Journal revealed that the president hired his “gold guy,” cabinetmaker John Icart, to create gilded borders for his political portraits, carved details for the fireplace mantel, and a gold Trump crest in a doorway.
Musician Jack White criticized the Oval Office’s new look in an Instagram post following Trump’s Aug. 18 meeting with Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
“Look at how disgusting Trump has transformed the historic White House,” White wrote. “It’s now a vulgar, gold-leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler’s dressing room. Can’t wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he’s almost fully achieved the movie ‘Idiocracy.'”
“Look at his disgusting taste, would you even buy a used car from this conman, let alone give him the nuclear codes?” he continued. “A gold-plated Trump bible would look perfect up on that mantle with a pair of Trump shoes on either side, wouldn’t it? What an embarrassment to American history.”
