The U.S. national debt is $37 trillion, but of course, President Donald Trump is busy decking out the White House in 24 karat gold

One thing every American can agree on, regardless of political beliefs, is that regular folk are suffering. Whether you believe that’s because of vampiric billionaires sucking the nation dry or desperate immigrants, the standard of life for regular people is steadily dropping, prices are rising, families are falling into poverty, jobs are drying up, and the nation is 40 trillion dollars in debt.

But there’s at least one place in America where the party never stops. Yup, let’s head over to the Donald Trump White House, where the big man himself is doing his best impression of a Bond villain by covering every available surface in gold.

We are $40 trillion dollars in debt.

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— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 28, 2025

According to the president, foreign leaders will “freak out” when they see the amount of gold Trump has stuffed into every available crevice of the White House. His verdict: “Best Oval Office ever”.

Perhaps the only silver (gold?) lining is that the taxpayer isn’t on the hook for this, and Trump (or one of his wealthy buddies eager for a presidential favor) is paying for it himself. But that comes with its own disquieting conclusion.

Sure doesn’t look like he’s ever planning to leave

If Trump really is using his own money to stuff the White House with as much gold as the foundations can bear, will he really just depart the building in 2028 and leave it for the next president to enjoy? Perhaps the best-case scenario is that the final weeks of his presidency see him stripping all precious metals from the White House, but nobody should discount the possibility of Trump simply refusing to leave.

After all, he’s turned the White House into Mar-a-Lago 2.0, he’s bolted a colossal ballroom onto the side of the building. From his perspective, he’s clearly thinking of the White House as his house, so why should he be forced to give it up purely based on a silly little thing like “term limits”?

Beyond all this, Trump has severely missed the point of why the White House is generally decorated in a subdued manner. Unlike some tinpot third-world dictator, the American president doesn’t need to show off how wealthy the nation is, as America’s power and wealth are so obvious they doesn’t need to be underlined.

A subdued residence for the president shows visitors that America is so important it doesn’t need to try to impress foreign visitors with gaudy opulence. If Trump really thinks foreign leaders will “freak out” at the sight of gold, he’s deluded: their reaction will almost certainly be that this stinks of low-class desperation. Which it does.