San Francisco Frontiers - Trump brings the bling with Oval Office makeover

The Republican has decked out the inner sanctum of the US presidency with gilded trophies and gold-plated, Trump-branded coasters, and filled almost every available inch of wall space with portraits of his predecessors.

Almost every day seems to bring something new. This week Trump installed a copy of the Declaration of Independence -- the historic document triggering America's freedom from the British monarchy 250 years ago.

Far more than during his first term, it's as if the 78-year-old former reality TV star and billionaire property mogul is creating something that is part-studio and part-exclusive real estate.

"President Trump is very good at playing the role of Donald Trump," Peter Loge, director of George Washington University's School of Media, told AFP.

"The show is the point. Part of the show is the bling. It would be surprising if Trump did not remake the Oval Office into a TV set that reflected his brand."

- Presidential portraits -

But there's also a serious political message behind Trump's frenetic redecoration.

The Oval Office is the most potent symbol of American power, a backdrop to his frequent news conferences and televised meetings with foreign dignitaries -- including a recent meltdown between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It was, therefore, no coincidence when the gallery of presidential portraits got a new addition: the 19th-century president James Polk.

Under Polk, the 11th US president, the United States saw its biggest period of territorial expansion by taking in huge swaths of the west coast, the southwest and Texas.

It was a clear piece of political symbolism at a time that Trump is alarming allies by openly talking about annexing Greenland, reclaiming the Panama Canal and taking over Gaza.

- 'Would Biden do this?' -

Each president picks most of their decor from similar sources including the White House art collection, but they still manage to stamp a very personal touch on the Oval.

The difference from Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden could hardly be greater -- as the 47th president himself is well aware.

"Do you think Joe Biden would do this? I don't think so," Trump said Tuesday as he pulled back light-protecting drapes on the Declaration of Independence in an interview with Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle."

Biden's Oval was a relative model of restraint with five portraits around the famed fireplace, including wartime president Franklin D. Roosevelt's directly above the hearth.

Trump has nine -- and that doesn't count others near his desk, including Republican icon Ronald Reagan's.

While Biden had a sprawling Swedish ivy plant that reputedly dated back to John F. Kennedy on the mantelpiece, Trump has seven ornate gilded vessels, some of which are more than 200 years old.

And while both Trump and Biden had a bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King on display, Trump has brought back the bust of Britain's World War II prime minister Winston Churchill that he had during his first term.

- Framed mugshot -

The ostentatious display should probably not come as a surprise for a man who announced his first presidential run by descending on a golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York.

The billionaire has long branded everything he can with his name, from buildings to bibles.

And Trump's makeover rarely shies away from promoting both his own brand and an image of strength that has been central to his political career.

Recently, one item that has been on permanent display is a large map identifying the "Gulf of America," which the Trump administration has renamed from the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump is even reportedly planning to pave over the famed Rose Garden that the Oval Office overlooks, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

One of Trump's proudest touches, though, is a very unconventional portrait that hangs near those of his illustrious forebears.

Right outside the Oval Office in a gold frame hangs a photo of Trump -- his 2023 mugshot, as featured on the cover of a tabloid newspaper, from when he was booked in Georgia for alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election.

Q.Taylor--SFF