Re: Life in Post Democracy Era: The Trump 2/Elon Dictatatorship
Posted: Tue May 06, 2025 3:52 pm
TRUMP BRAGS ABOUT GOLD-PLATED OFFICE WHILE TELLING AMERICANS TO CUT EXPENSES
Austerity for thee but not for me. As Donald Trump advises the American public on how to save some money — buy fewer dolls, five pencils max — to counteract the effects of tariff-induced price increases, he’s making clear that cost-saving measures don’t apply to his office decor budget.
During a Tuesday meeting with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the president bragged to reporters about his renovations to the Oval Office.
“You see the new and improved Oval Office,” Trump said to Carney. “As it becomes more and more beautiful with love — you know we handle it with great love — and 24-karat gold, that always helps too.”
Yes, love and 24-karat gold leaf has indeed transformed the Oval. Who needs dignified classicism when you can make one of the most famous rooms on the planet look like an overstuffed and inbred cousin of Versailles? Trump has decked out every mantle and surface he can see with gold-plated vases, moldings, and reliefs of a canary yellow that screeches nouveau riche petulance at all who behold it.
Earlier this week, in that very same office, Trump defended himself to NBC News when asked on Sunday about comments he’d made a few days earlier about how Americans could cut back on their spending by only purchasing three to five dolls for their little girls, instead of 30, as his tariffs take a toll on consumers.
Only a man who has never stressed over a credit card payment would think that the children of this nation are being gifted 30 dolls — or other toys — at any given time, or even that they would accumulate that many over years.
The president also added that a person doesn’t “need to have 250 pencils, they can have five.”
Much like Trump’s fascination with the concept of groceries and the way the peasant class goes to a store to buy goods, the president’s fixation on dolls is yet another sign of how deeply out of touch he is with not only the economic conditions of the average Americans, but the way his actions as president affect everyday consumers. Trump further endeared himself as an attentive champion of the working class by scoffing to reporters later on Sunday that the only prices hit by his tariffs are those on “the thing you carry the babies around in.”
Americans are already beginning to feel the effects of higher prices. No major tariff deals have been announced even as Trump claims he’s in negotiations with dozens of countries. China, the U.S.’s third-largest trade partner, has made clear they are not interested in a deal so long as Trump’s astronomical tariffs remain in place. As domestic stockpiles and inventories of goods dwindle, things are only going to get worse. But don’t worry, while you struggle to stretch your budget, you can sleep easy knowing the president’s office is full of love — and 24-karat gold.
Austerity for thee but not for me. As Donald Trump advises the American public on how to save some money — buy fewer dolls, five pencils max — to counteract the effects of tariff-induced price increases, he’s making clear that cost-saving measures don’t apply to his office decor budget.
During a Tuesday meeting with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the president bragged to reporters about his renovations to the Oval Office.
“You see the new and improved Oval Office,” Trump said to Carney. “As it becomes more and more beautiful with love — you know we handle it with great love — and 24-karat gold, that always helps too.”
Yes, love and 24-karat gold leaf has indeed transformed the Oval. Who needs dignified classicism when you can make one of the most famous rooms on the planet look like an overstuffed and inbred cousin of Versailles? Trump has decked out every mantle and surface he can see with gold-plated vases, moldings, and reliefs of a canary yellow that screeches nouveau riche petulance at all who behold it.
Earlier this week, in that very same office, Trump defended himself to NBC News when asked on Sunday about comments he’d made a few days earlier about how Americans could cut back on their spending by only purchasing three to five dolls for their little girls, instead of 30, as his tariffs take a toll on consumers.
Only a man who has never stressed over a credit card payment would think that the children of this nation are being gifted 30 dolls — or other toys — at any given time, or even that they would accumulate that many over years.
The president also added that a person doesn’t “need to have 250 pencils, they can have five.”
Much like Trump’s fascination with the concept of groceries and the way the peasant class goes to a store to buy goods, the president’s fixation on dolls is yet another sign of how deeply out of touch he is with not only the economic conditions of the average Americans, but the way his actions as president affect everyday consumers. Trump further endeared himself as an attentive champion of the working class by scoffing to reporters later on Sunday that the only prices hit by his tariffs are those on “the thing you carry the babies around in.”
Americans are already beginning to feel the effects of higher prices. No major tariff deals have been announced even as Trump claims he’s in negotiations with dozens of countries. China, the U.S.’s third-largest trade partner, has made clear they are not interested in a deal so long as Trump’s astronomical tariffs remain in place. As domestic stockpiles and inventories of goods dwindle, things are only going to get worse. But don’t worry, while you struggle to stretch your budget, you can sleep easy knowing the president’s office is full of love — and 24-karat gold.
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