Copyright independent
Donald Trump has been hammered on social media for taping a golden “Oval Office” sign onto the walls of the White House, while the government shutdown enters its 37th day. California Governor Gavin Newsom uploaded an edited picture of Trump’s sign, which was written in an ostentatious, swirling font and appeared to have been stuck directly onto the wall, in a post that has racked up 1.5 million views. Newsom changed the lettering to read “live, laugh, lose,” in a reference to Republicans being defeated by Democrats in a slew of vital gubernatorial and mayoral races across the country on Tuesday. The Governor’s post references the famous signage turned meme “live, laugh, love.” The three-word phrase is often used to accompany something that seems particularly suburban or “basic.” Pennsylvania Congressman Malcolm Kenyatta also blasted the president for putting up a sign, which he says “looks like s***.” Kenyatta added that the president is focusing on putting up the sign while ignoring the 43 million Americans left without “access to SNAP” and at risk of their “health care costs exploding even more.” Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester added that she wished the government “would focus on helping struggling Americans,” but said news of Trump’s new decoration “isn’t a good sign” that it was a priority. Meanwhile, hundreds of other social media users have hammered the president for the bizarre addition to the Oval Office, with one person posting an edited picture of the White House accompanied by a Cheesecake Factory sign. Another user posted a picture of a sign that read “Patient Entrance” above the Oval Office door. Another user uploaded an image of the Oval Office entrance with a McDonald’s sign beside it, in reference to the president’s fondness for the fast-food chain’s meals. Underneath the McDonald’s logo, a subtitle read “over a billion, zillion hamburgers ate here!” One meme seemed to reference accusations that Trump’s administration had largely benefitted billionaires, as the user shared an edited video of a flashing sign above the Oval Office door, which read “$10 million entrance fee.” The White House has hit back at its critics, though, with a Trump spokesperson telling The Daily Beast that the president is “making the White House beautiful” and that people who dislike the new sign must have a “severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The president has been criticized for decorating the White House in a gilded, baroque style, which critics claim resembles an 18th-century European palace more than the home of America’s head of state. Trump has bulldozed the entirety of the East Wing of the White House, as he makes way for his $300 million ballroom, which will be funded by businesses including Palantir, Google, and OpenAI. The president has claimed that his ballroom will be “a lot of fun” and that people have “wanted a ballroom for 150 years.” The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
