President Donald Trump has overseen sweeping changes to the White House, but he says one proposed project received an immediate rejection: tearing down the Oval Office.
In an interview with TIME published Thursday, Trump recalled seeing Secret Service personnel examining the room and asking what they were doing.
“And I say, ‘What are you guys looking at?’ ‘Sir, we think the Oval Office should be taken down, and we’ll build a new one, sir,’” Trump said.
His response was blunt.
“I said, ‘My a–, you can’t build a new one. This is a special place.’”
The exchange emerged when Trump was asked what he would miss most about the White House after leaving office.
“This beautiful room that nobody should be allowed to rip down,” he replied. “The Oval Office.”
Trump Wants to Protect the Room
According to The Hill’s reporting, Trump has also been considering whether a federal landmark designation could help preserve the Oval Office.
“I’ve been asking Susie for six months to give me a statement. Will we save this room? Will we make it a federal landmark?” he said, referring to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
His comments describe a conversation with Secret Service personnel rather than establish that a formal demolition plan had been approved.
The White House declined further comment, while the Secret Service had not responded to questions, The Washington Post reported.
The room Trump wants to preserve has occupied its current location for more than 90 years.
According to the White House Historical Association, President William Howard Taft established the first Oval Office in 1909. President Franklin D. Roosevelt later expanded the West Wing and moved the office to its present location overlooking the Rose Garden in 1934.
The redesign brought the president’s office closer to the White House residence. Over subsequent decades, the room became a familiar setting for presidential addresses, meetings with foreign leaders and major announcements.
A Personal Stamp on the White House
Trump’s determination to preserve the Oval Office comes amid extensive renovations elsewhere on the presidential grounds.
As The Hill reported, those changes include demolishing the East Wing last October to make room for a ballroom, paving the Rose Garden and renovating the Palm Room.
Inside the Oval Office, Trump has added gold accents, decorative frames and gold trim, including embellishments to the presidential seal on the ceiling.
He has also installed gold-framed presidential photographs along the West Wing walkway and colonnade and changed the flooring to dark granite.
Trump defended his renovation efforts in the interview, describing the White House as a national symbol deserving attention.
“The White House is a very special symbol,” he said. “It’s a symbol of America. It’s a symbol of our greatness.”
“And I said, ‘I got to fix it,’” Trump continued, adding that the work comes naturally to him.
“It’s actually relaxing,” he said. “You know, for a lot of people, it drives them crazy.”
