Trump unveils renovated Lincoln bathroom after East Wing demolition

Trump unveils renovated Lincoln bathroom after East Wing demolition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has renovated the Lincoln Bedroom bathroom. This is his latest impact on the White House, following the demolition of the East Wing, the Rose Garden floor, and the Oval Office's gold decorations.

Trump, who has faced criticism from preservationists and Democrats for adding a Mar-a-Lago-style touch to the historic mansion, unveiled the renovated white and black marble bathroom via social media.

"I have renovated the Lincoln bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an Art Deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln era," Trump said in his post, which also included photos of the bathroom before and after the renovation.

"I did it with black and white polished statuary marble," he added. "It was perfectly appropriate for Abraham Lincoln's time, and in fact, it may be the same marble that was originally there!"

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether the bathroom project had gone through any formal design or approval process.

Trump Planning a Ballroom

Trump's abrupt demolition of the East Wing this month to build a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom has been criticized for lacking prior review. The White House has said it will submit the ballroom's construction plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, whose chairman is Trump's staff secretary, for review.

While presidents have renovated rooms in their residences for decades, Trump, a former New York real estate businessman, has pursued the White House renovation with particular zeal.

Since taking office in January, Trump has installed gold ornaments and statues in his favorite style in the Oval Office. The grass in the Rose Garden has been dug up and replaced with white stone.

Portraits of Trump have been installed throughout the estate, and giant American flags have been erected on new flagpoles on the North and South Lawns.

According to a 2007 Washington Post article, the green-tiled Lincoln bathroom is a symbol of the White House renovations commissioned by then-President Harry Truman in the 1950s.

At that time, then-President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush renovated the Lincoln Bedroom, which Lincoln used as an office. Describing the Bush renovations, the Post article stated that they retained the "well-preserved" bathroom.


trump unveils renovated lincoln bathroom after east wing demolition