President Donald Trump‘s second Oval Office got its big debut Monday, including the return of an Andrew Jackson portrait and the reemergence of the Reagan rug.
The rug, which was in place during Ronald Reagan’s administration and during Trump’s first term, was reinstalled during Trump’s inauguration ceremony, according to CBS News. The Resolute Desk had to be partially disassembled in order to facilitate its return.
The Andrew Jackson portrait has drawn controversy because Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, signed the Indian Removal Act, resulting in the Trail of Tears, and remains a polarizing figure almost 180 years after his death. Trump, however, is a huge fan and has compared himself to Jackson as a man who challenged the political establishment.
Trump is also a fan of Reagan, and some of his most noteworthy slogans, such as “Drain the Swamp” and “Make America Great Again,” were first uttered by The Gipper. Trump’s signature song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” was also used by Reagan during his 1984 campaign. Now, Trump will preside with the same rug Reagan had under his feet in the Oval Office.
A false story about Trump’s first Oval Office redesign made waves in 2017 when it was reported that Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., but that detail was wrong and was quickly corrected. It remains in the office today.
When former President Joe Biden took the White House four years ago, he added busts of labor leader Cesar Chavez and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, along with a front-and-center painting of Franklin Delano Roosevelt across from the Resolute Desk — after the previous nine presidents had selected paintings of George Washington for the office’s most prominent space.
Biden was hoping to channel FDR during his term in office, seeing him as a model for how to handle crises — the Great Depression in Roosevelt’s case, COVID-19 in Biden’s. But Biden’s ambitions did not meet those lofty expectations, and while Roosevelt won a never-to-be-repeated four presidential elections, Biden dropped out of his reelection bid following a disastrous debate performance last June.
Not only is FDR no longer in the pole position of Oval Office paintings, Trump’s refresh does not feature him at all. Benjamin Franklin, however, remains, and the new Andrew Jackson portrait is different than the one Trump used during his first administration, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump has also brought back a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, sitting in the same place it resided before Biden removed it in 2021.
In an ironic twist, Trump has chosen to remove a bust of Robert F. Kennedy that Biden featured prominently in the Oval Office, even while he attempts to install Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as a member of his cabinet.
And for those wondering, the famed Diet Coke button has returned. When Trump hits it, an aide will bring another of the soft drinks that he loves into the room.
The Oval Office is traditionally one of the most personalized areas of the West Wing and is typically updated within hours of a new president taking office. Such was the case again today, with aides beginning work even before Trump became commander in chief at noon.
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Though it isn’t part of the decorations, Biden continued the tradition of leaving a letter to his successor on the Resolute Desk on Inauguration Day, one of the few rites of passage Trump participated in during the chaotic 2021 transition.
The contents of Biden’s letter have not been publicly disclosed.
