Gold ornamentation adorns the Oval Office while U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 18, 2025.
Former CNN star Don Lemon has a suggestion for fixing what he calls the horrible interior design of President Donald Trump’s White House renovations: hire a gay friend. “It’s really bad. He needs a gay friend. Look at all of this, I hate to say, tacky s---. And he thinks this is good. It looks like a Michaels. [There’s] gold everywhere. It’s like King Midas got trapped inside of a Cheesecake Factory,” Lemon said with a laugh in a post he shared to his Instagram account.
Lemon’s critique comes as Trump faces mounting backlash over his renovations and proposed construction projects. Trump has come under fire following the demolition of the historic East Wing to make way for a proposed 90,000-square-foot state ballroom that could seat about 1,000 guests. The project, estimated to cost between $300 million and $600 million or more, also includes plans for a six-story underground military complex.
His additional renovations also include a multimillion-dollar helipad covering roughly 80,000 square feet of the South Lawn. Built with Italian granite, the helipad is intended to protect the lawn from damage caused by Marine One’s exhaust.
Trump’s own aides are reportedly growing increasingly frustrated and concerned that he remains fixated on White House renovations, questioning his priorities as the administration grapples with the fallout from its devastating midterm election defeat.
“In this current trajectory, there’s no shot this is salvageable,” one former White House official, who remains in touch with current staff, said of Trump’s MAGA agenda when speaking with MS Now. “What is the president’s focus these last two years? It’s probably renovations.”
“The president’s attention is all over the place,” said another former White House official who remains close to the administration. “How many people are preparing briefs on what marble to pick for X project?”
As a result, staffers are reportedly preparing to leave. “There is no holding back on the desire to leave now,” a former official said. “Some are making calls to try and jump ship.” Others are being advised to seek legal counsel as a “precaution.”
One former Trump administration official said the mood at the White House is “pain,” adding, “Everybody’s going to start infighting.”
As departures and firings are unraveling, one staffer told MS Now, “It’s going to be hell…No one is going to work there — you have to be independently wealthy,” the person said, referring to the salaries of White House staffers relative to the private sector.