‘He’s Unwell’: Trump’s Bizarre Six-Minute White House Stare Takes Awkward Turn After Cameras Zoom In on His Tense Exchange with Secret Service
Donald Trump is determined to remake the nation’s capital in his image, specifically spending the first 16 months of his second term as president fixated on transforming the White House.
Since returning to Washington in January 2025, Trump has made major changes to the White House complex, igniting widespread backlash for the renovations.
The Oval Office is now adorned with gilded ornaments and picture frames, while gold-scripted signs were added to the walls outside the room. The 79-year-old also had the White House’s East Wing demolished to build a large ballroom.
More remodeling to the Executive Mansion could be on the way. Reports suggest Trump wants to redesign the White House’s iconic main entrance, which is accented by a row of white Ionic columns.
On May 25, Trump was filmed returning to the White House after delivering a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery. The MAGA chief exited his vehicle, surrounded by Secret Service, and proceeded to walk up to one of the pillars outside the building.
Dressed in his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump froze before entering the White House. He walked toward the columns, gestured at the structure, and exchanged inaudible words with his aides.
The former reality television star appeared mesmerized by what he was seeing. According to reports, Trump was spellbound at the White House’s exterior for around six minutes before finally entering the building.
“He’s planning on destroying the White House in case you haven’t been paying attention,” an X user declared in reaction to a clip of the president aimlessly staring at the White House column on Monday.
A second person on the social media app added, “Something else for him to destroy, isn’t the ballroom enough? He should tear up Mar-A-Lago,” referring to Trump’s members-only private resort located in Palm Beach, Florida.
“He’s nuts. Unwell. He shouldn’t be president. There’s no meaningful pushback, no credible resistance from Congress or SCOTUS. DOJ is a weapon. Industry is indifferent, complicit, or obsequious: We have not yet experienced the worst he can do,” warned another commenter.
Other posters chose to mock the commander in chief’s obsession with White House makeovers. For instance, one Trump detractor sarcastically tweeted, “Thought he was sniffing it and looking for somewhere to take a leak.”
The complaints and jokes continued on Facebook. One comment on that platform read, “It was just a senior moment.” A second alluded to the gilding of the Oval Office by stating, “Uh oh, more spray-painted gold geegaws incoming.”
However, a more concerned individual was troubled by the possibility of Trump tearing down the current White House columns for a gaudy look, warning, “Don’t laugh… he’s serious.”
Back in March, the Washington Post revealed that Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the Trump-appointed chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, was considering switching the Ionic columns to a Corinthian style particularly favored by the president.
The Corinthian architecture is found in other Washington landmarks, such as the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court, as well as in Trump-owned properties. At the time, the White House insisted the Ionic version would remain, but Cook, 69, made it clear he wanted to see the modification made.
“Corinthian is the highest order [of column], and that’s what our other two branches of government have,” the Georgia-born designer told the outlet, citing the buildings that house Congress and the Supreme Court.
Cook also said, “Why the White House didn’t originally use them, at least on the north front, which is considered the front door, is beyond me.” Construction of the White House began in the late 1790s, with President John Adams and his wife, Abigail, moving in on Nov. 1, 1800.
In addition, Cook has championed Trump’s desire to build a 250-foot triumphal arch in DC. The Commission of Fine Arts approved a design for the proposed monument earlier this month, but an estimated timeline for the project is still unknown.
The so-called “Arc de Trump” is yet another construction project that has Washington insiders and voters across the country questioning why Trump seems to be more interested in overhauling D.C.’s cityscape than tackling serious issues like the rising cost of living in America.