Gold eagles. Gold cherubs. Gold appliqués. Gold signage.
Under President Donald Trump, the Oval Office is looking more and more like the gilded Grand Ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
In addition to gold furnishings and accents, Trump has also added military flags, numerous pieces of artwork, and a button on his desk that summons a staffer with a Diet Coke.
The transformation is one of many White House changes and renovations that Trump is carrying out during his second, non-consecutive term.
He has also paved over the Rose Garden lawn, redecorated the Colonnade, and knocked down the East Wing to make way for a new ballroom, changes the president has described as necessary to update the White House and make it better suited to events and guests.
Take a look around Trump's redecorated Oval Office.
Trump added gold signage and embellishments outside the Oval Office doors.
The gold lettering is set in Shelley Script font.
Trump chose to reinstall the Oval Office rug he used during his first term, which was originally designed for Ronald Reagan.
The beige rug features rays of light emanating from the presidential seal in the center with olive branches along the outer border, symbolizing peace.
Reagan also appears on the wall to Trump's left when he's seated at the Resolute Desk.
Artist Everett Raymond Kinstler painted the official presidential portrait of Reagan in 1991.
Trump has had a model of Air Force One painted in his preferred colors since his first White House term. It's back in the Oval Office.
Boeing was supposed to deliver new VC-25B presidential planes in 2024, but delays have pushed the timeframe back to 2027 or 2028.
To hasten the upgrade, Trump accepted a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family in May 2025.
The plane was retrofitted, painted red, white, and blue, and designated as the VC-25B Bridge, the transitional aircraft between the old VC-25As, decades-old Boeing 747s, and the new VC-25Bs.
Questions about the new plane's security and defensive capabilities intensified in early July after Trump switched to an older Air Force One for part of his return trip from a NATO summit in Turkey.
At the time, Trump said the switch was so US service members could see the plane; he later told reporters on July 19 that the 747 would be taken out of service for about a month to be "maxed out."
While sitting at the Resolute Desk, Trump can order a Diet Coke with the press of a button.
Trump also had the red button, seen on the wooden block on the left, installed during his first term.
Trump added flags representing each branch of the US military behind the desk.
The flags of the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy are present, as well as the flag of the Space Force, which Trump established during his first term in 2019.
On the other side of the Resolute Desk hangs a copy of the Declaration of Independence on loan from the National Archives.
The document is flanked by curtains to protect it from the sun.
Trump added numerous gold embellishments to the walls and door leading to the West Wing.
He also chose gold objects from the White House collection to decorate the bookshelves.
Two doors are decorated with gold cherub figures brought in from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
The cherubs came from the Louis XIV-style Grand Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
On the ceiling, the presidential seal has been painted with gold.
The plaster relief of the presidential seal was added to the Oval Office in 1934 during a White House renovation overseen by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Gold pieces from the White House collection now adorn the fireplace mantel, which has also been decorated with more gold appliqués.
The gilded urns and decorative pieces on the mantel date back to the 19th century and rotate periodically.
Credenzas on either side of the fireplace appear to be supported by the wings of gold eagle statues.
Trump often conducts meetings with world leaders seated in front of the Oval Office's marble fireplace.
Zooming out, Trump has added numerous additional portraits, mirrors, and gold detailing to the wall behind the fireplace.
The central portrait above the mantel depicts George Washington. Also featured are past presidents and founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and William Henry Harrison.
The mirror on the right covers a peephole used by staffers during previous administrations to observe Oval Office meetings.
Trump also added gold trim to the crown molding around the ceiling.
Trump added a gold eagle sculpture titled "The American Patriot" to the Oval Office in October 2025.
The statue, plated with 24-karat gold, was commissioned by Mark Russo and sculpted by Lorenzo Ghiglieri, according to Art Factory.
Measuring 40 inches high and weighing 325 pounds, the piece depicts a bald eagle spreading its wings atop the US Constitution.
Trump's raised fist following an assassination attempt was immortalized in a statue displayed next to the Resolute Desk.
Created by artist Stan Watts, the statue is one of many works of art in the White House inspired by Trump's assassination attempt, which occurred in July 2024 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Other decorative touches include busts of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Benjamin Franklin, as well as fighter jet models.
The bust of Martin Luther King Jr. that was in the Oval Office during the presidencies of Barack Obama and Joe Biden has been removed.
Editor's Note: This story was first published in May 2026 and updated in August 2026.
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Talia Lakritz is a Life correspondent at Business Insider covering politics and power through a lifestyle and visual storytelling lens. She has reported from the White House as well as military installations, mansions, and museums across the country, bringing readers inside the people, places, and systems that influence American life through immersive features.Previously, she wrote for The New York Jewish Week and SciShow Space.Talia holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Barnard College of Columbia University and ordination as an interfaith minister from One Spirit Learning Alliance. She hopes to one day visit all 50 states and all 14 public presidential libraries.Talia can be found on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.Politics and power:
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