By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seems Donald Trump gauges his esteem for presidential predecessors by how nicely their portraits match into his White Home redecorating scheme. Or typically how nicely the frames round these portraits do.
“I’m a body individual,” Trump mentioned Tuesday throughout a gathering along with his Cupboard. “Typically I like frames greater than I like the photographs.”
Trump wrapped up a 90-plus-minute session by explaining how he personally labored to redecorate the Cupboard Room, seeming to take actual pleasure in selecting which portraits had been hung. The president additionally mentioned he helped select the room’s drapes and polled these current about whether or not he ought to repaint the room in gold leaf. (Cupboard members suppose he ought to.)
“I truly frolicked within the vaults. The vaults are the place we’ve plenty of nice footage and paintings. And I picked all of it myself,” Trump mentioned. “I’m very pleased with it.”
The president mentioned that meant “plenty of time, effort” and “little or no cash.” He even recounted having gone to Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘s workplace and directing {that a} grandfather clock there be moved to the White Home.
“As president, you could have the ability — if I am going into the State Division, or Division of Commerce or Treasury — if I see something that I like, I’m allowed to take it,” Trump mentioned, drawing laughs. He provided the anecdote regardless of there not being any file of Trump having paid a public go to to the State Division throughout Rubio’s tenure.
Trump additionally identified every portrait and shared what he considered every ex-president depicted. He began by indicating “the good Andrew Jackson ” and went from there — renewing his frequent reward for William McKinley and getting in a dig about how Invoice Clinton as soon as provided donors in a single day stays within the Lincoln bed room in change for marketing campaign contributions.
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A portray of former President Abraham Lincoln is seen on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cupboard Room throughout a cupboard assembly on the White Home on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump mentioned the current flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas the place at the very least 109 folks have died, and different subjects throughout the portion of the assembly that was open to members of the media. (Photograph by Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs)
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A portray of former President Abraham Lincoln is seen on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cupboard Room throughout a cupboard assembly on the White Home on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump mentioned the current flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas the place at the very least 109 folks have died, and different subjects throughout the portion of the assembly that was open to members of the media. (Photograph by Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs)
Right here’s what Trump mentioned about some previous presidents:
James Okay. Polk (1845-49):
“That’s a gentleman named — and we name him — President Polk. He was form of a real-estate man. He was — folks don’t notice — he was a one-termer. However he was an excellent president. However, and I’m undecided I needs to be doing this, he truly gave us the state of California.”
Then Trump revealed that his selection of Polk’s image may need had extra do with the portrait’s body being virtually the identical measurement because the body surrounding Jackson’s portrait, which he advised was particularly aesthetically pleasing: “Polk is definitely an excellent president who’s received the identical body that I wanted, OK.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61):
“A really underrated president. Constructed the Interstate (Freeway) System. And he was the hardest president, I assume, till we got here alongside. However I don’t thoughts giving up that crown, as a result of, I don’t need to be too robust on it. However we need to be humane. However he was the hardest president on immigration. He was very sturdy on the borders. Very, very sturdy. And, typically you could be too sturdy. He was sturdy on the borders and, throughout a sure time frame, there was so sturdy that just about each farmer in California went bankrupt. And we’ve to keep in mind that. We now have to work collectively. We now have to keep in mind that. However he was an excellent president, and an excellent normal and an excellent president and I assumed he deserved a place someplace on this flooring.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45):
“He was not a Republican, to place it mildly. However he was, you recognize, a four-termer. He was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And, should you discover, we’ve plenty of ramps exterior. You may have a ramp. Folks say, ‘It’s an uncommon place for a ramp.’ It was due to him. He was wheelchair sure. However he was an incredible man.”
Abraham Lincoln (1861-65):
“Over there may be ‘Sincere’ Abe Lincoln. And that image was in his, ugh, in his bed room. And we thought this could be an important place as a result of that is the place wars are ended. I’m not going to say wars are declared. I’m going to say wars are ended. OK? We’ll be optimistic. And, that’s the image of Abe Lincoln from his bed room, sat within the bed room for a lot of, a few years. That was his favourite image of himself. And the Lincoln Bed room’s very well-known. You keep in mind when Invoice Clinton had it and he rented it out to folks. We don’t try this.”
John Adams (1797-1801):
“They had been the primary occupants of the White Home. 1800. And John Quincy Adams, Mrs. Adams, they had been the primary occupants. So we’ve them one another and, in between their stares is Abraham Lincoln attempting to make peace.”
(Trump is appropriate that John Adams, the nation’s second president, and his spouse Abigail, had been the primary first couple to maneuver into the White Home in 1800. However he was mistaken about John Quincy Adams, who was John and Abigail’s son and the sixth president. He served from 1825 to 1829).
William McKinley (1897-1901):
“McKinley was an important president who by no means received credit score. In truth, they modified the title of Mount McKinley and I modified it again as a result of he ought to have been — the folks of Ohio, he was the governor of Ohio — the folks of Ohio had been very completely satisfied after I did that. I heard they had been very insulted. They took the title of Mount McKinley off. That was finished by Obama a short time in the past and I needed to change it again. I modified it again. He truly was an important president. He was a president. He was the tariff, essentially the most, I assume since me — I believe I’m gonna outdo him — however he was a tariff president. He believed that different international locations ought to pay for the privilege of coming into our nation and taking our jobs and taking our treasure. That’s the best way he defined it. They took our jobs they usually took our treasure. And for that he ought to pay. And he made them pay. And he constructed an incredible fortune.”
Will Weissert covers the White Home for The Related Press.
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