Trump 'turning White House into Mar a Lago' with renovation plan: analysis

Donald Trump is converting the White House into Mar a Lago, according to a political commentator who broke down the president's biggest blunders this year.

Mikey Smith, writing in The Mirror, believes the president is "fighting the old wars of 2020" and attempting to convert as much of the White House as he can into a place that more closely resembles his Florida resort. Trump has spent much of his time at Mar a Lago during the first year of his second term, often giving briefings from the golf club, rather than the Oval Office.

Smith wrote, "A year into his second term in office, polls make him the second most unpopular President of all time. He's spending most of his time fighting the old wars of 2020, punishing his enemies and remodelling the White House to more closely resemble Mar A Lago. He schmoozes America's enemies and alienates her allies."

But it's the renovation work which Trump has carried out not just on the East Wing of the White House, but to the interior decorations, that is a sign of concern.

Smith added, "The new ballroom is just part of a gradual process throughout the year to turn the White House into Mar a Lago. Every time the Oval Office was on TV, there was a fresh gold (painted) sconce or detail somewhere."

"The art deco bathroom in the "Lincoln bedroom" was torn out to make way for the kind of polished marble monstrosity one only sees in a building that either has Trump in it or written on the outside."

"He paved over the rose garden to put a patio out there to match the one at his Florida resort - inviting Republicans over for dinner and glad-handing on late summer evenings. Even the two enormous flagpoles he installed on the White House lawn were identical to one he has in Palm Beach."

Future projects which could see the president's administration refresh the Eisenhower Building have led to Trump being hit with a lawsuit by preservation groups.

The suit has asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to stop Trump and other federal officials from making any changes to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before the potential changes are assessed in a standard review process. Judge Dabney L. Friedrich is, according to The Washington Post, expected to rule on this request.

Heller said, "GSA will not authorize or engage in the physical actions of power washing/cleaning, painting, or repointing the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before Dec. 31, 2025." Work on other parts of the White House, such as the East Wing, began earlier this year.