Wednesday, November 12, 2025

Tacky AF: A Big Beautiful Ballroom

President Donald Trump on Tuesday made a verbal flub as he tried to brag about what made up a newly-installed “Presidential Walk of Fame” sign at the White House.

Trump — who broke down his White House renovations during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham — pointed to a sign at the start of a row of (mostly) presidential portraits located on the West Colonnade.

The president fumbled his words while bragging about the work of a "very talented person" on the West Colonnade.

“So that’s half-inch thick bronze, carved — by a very talented person,” said Trump as Ingraham looked on.
“And it’s brass, it’s pure brass, it’s half-inch thick brass. And you can’t just do that, that’s — you know, you look at that, that’s quality, right?”

Bronze and brass are different alloys and colors, with the former having a reddish brown appearance and being primarily composed of copper and tin.
Social media users were quick to weigh in on the president’s “embarrassing” bronze-brass blunder and his “tacky AF” design choice.

The Christian Science Monitor

A big, beautiful ballroom? Trump puts his imprint on the White House. - CSMonitor.com

https://opinion-images.wsj.net/im-08240113/?size=1.5

If Mr. Trump’s first term was about figuring out what he had the power to do, the second term is about just doing it – from policy to politics to a White House makeover. The anti-Trump outrage machine is responding as expected, with some suggesting that the ballroom project is another sign that he intends to stay in power beyond his second term and make good use of the new event space.

Critics also say the private funding of White House renovations opens the door to contributions from people trying to curry favor with the president, including foreign actors. So far, donor identities have not been disclosed.