EXCLUSIVE: Forget Donald Trump's Ballroom — Prez is Slated as 'Demented Old Man' for Using Bizarre Technique to Add His Own 'Decorative Touches' to the White House
Trump faced fierce backlash for wild Oval Office changes.
June 25 2026, Published 3:07 p.m. ET
Donald Trump has been personally decorating the White House by using a tube of super glue to jam gold ornamentation over the historic building.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that's the claim in a new book painting the 80-year-old president as so committed to leaving his own mark on the executive mansion – even small design changes are entrusted to no one but himself.
Trump's Oval Office Makeover
Donald Trump used a tube of super glue to attach gold ornaments.
The allegation appears in Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, a 464-page tome by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
Drawing on a raft of interviews with anonymous sources and extensive reporting, the book examines Trump's second term and portrays a president driven by grievances, instinct and an intense desire to reshape Washington in his own image.
Alongside ambitious proposals including a ballroom replacing the White House East Wing and a 250-foot triumphal arch beside the Potomac River, the authors describe Trump taking a bizarre hands-on role in the Oval Office itself.
One morning, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt walked into the Oval Office to discover Trump in the middle of his latest decorating project, according to the book.
The president was reportedly holding a tube of super glue while attaching new gold-colored decorative ornaments to the marble fireplace mantel.
"As he was known to prefer his own aesthetic handiwork to anyone else's, the sight of the president squeezing glue onto gilded appliqués and mounting them on the wall himself surprised no one in his inner circle," Haberman and Swan write.
Inside Trump's Decorating Habit
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt discovered Trump mid-project.
A source familiar with the White House told Radar the episode reflected Trump's highly personal approach to the presidency rather than an isolated incident.
The insider added: "The president likes to oversee every detail of his surroundings. Whether it's a major construction proposal or a decorative flourish inside the Oval Office, he wants the final result to reflect his own taste and vision."
Another insider said Trump's involvement in the décor had become well known among staff members.
The source said: "People around him understand that if he has an idea about how something should look, he's likely to carry it out himself. It has become part of the way the White House operates under this administration.
"But it comes across as the behavior of a demented old man with tacky tastes."
Book Paints Unconventional Leader
White House staff members witnessed Trump's hands-on décor changes.
The book also portrays Trump as a leader willing to break with convention while exercising unprecedented influence over government, cultural institutions and the national conversation.
According to its authors, their reporting is based on extensive interviews conducted on condition of anonymity to allow sources to discuss internal deliberations and sensitive matters candidly.
Haberman and Swan write they repeatedly contacted those named throughout the reporting process and provided opportunities for them to respond to the material included in the book.
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The chief executive pursued an agenda designed to leave a signature mark.
The book argues Trump's governing style is shaped by instinct as much as planning, describing him as operating on grievances and instincts while pursuing an agenda designed to leave a lasting imprint on both the presidency and the White House itself.
While multimillion-dollar construction ideas such as his ballroom would require architects, contractors and cranes, the super glue episode offers a striking contrast.
According to the authors, those closest to Trump were not surprised to find the president personally carrying out the work, viewing it as another example of his preference for direct involvement in projects bearing his signature.
