Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Liv Bridge
Before and after photos of the Oval Office have inspired a theory into how Donald Trump 'bankrupted so many casinos'.
Before the POTUS entered politics, Trump was a well-established businessman in the realm of real estate.
Over the course of a decade, he built quite an empire along Atlantic City's boardwalk - opening the Trump Plaza Hotel in 1984 followed by Trump's Castle (later renamed to Trump Marina) 12 months later and then the ginormous Trump Taj Mahal Casino in 1990.
Yet the success was relatively short-lived, as Trump Entertainment Resorts ended up filing for bankruptcy not once but three times between 2004 and 2014.
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Eventually, it closed most of its casino spots in 2016 and while Trump personally rinsed his hands of the lot, some went into new ownership while others formed a path of deserted and derelict buildings along the boardwalk.
It wasn't until 2021 that the 'eyesore' of the former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino came tumbling down.
Now sitting as the 47th president of the United States, Trump has made some notable changes to the decor across the sprawling White House estate, including a little more than a splash of grandeur to the Oval Office in his favorite color.
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Fixtures, fittings, ornaments, trinkets and even picture frames hugging the portraits of historical figures have been gold-plated to the max, standing in stark contrast to his predecessor Joe Biden's comparatively bland and white meeting room.
Trump has also crammed the office full with memorabilia and added some blinged-up embellishments to the fire place, where trophies sit atop including, somewhere amid the sea of gold akin to Harry Potter's vault in Gringotts, a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy after Trump's request to keep the real deal was denied.
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While he plans on taking on the East Wing next with a $200 million ballroom, and has already paved over the infamous Rose Garden lawn, critics say they believe his taste in decor could give us some insight into his history of bankruptcy.
Sharing the before and after images of the Oval Office, podcaster Brian Allen said on Twitter: "Not hard to see how he bankrupted so many casinos. These are the same rooms btw."
Others agreed that the new look appears a little distasteful for a presidential suite, commenting: "Reverent dignity replaced with gaudy insecurity."
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"Countless critical meetings have been held there. It is a place of work, not a leisure palace or a gaudy casino," said another.
A third added: "Looks like a fire sale at Poundland."
However, a fourth said in mild defense of Trump's Oval Office: "I’m sorry but the picture on the left looks like it was taken in a funeral home. I do think he did go a little overboard on the gold but it was an improvement."
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When appealing to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to 'keep' the OG trophy, Trump pointed out that it 'fits very well' in with the decor.
"You see the way this is looking nice?", the 79-year-old continued. "I can’t tell you how much that gold costs—a lot of money. There’s nothing like gold, and there’s nothing like solid gold.”
As for the makeover, Trump insisted the change was needed, saying the old decor was not 'representative'.
“When we took it over, it was dirty, not clean,” he said. “I immediately changed the chair and had this beautiful desk renovated… This was not appropriate for the Oval Office when I took over.”