For those who’ve grown weary of Donald Trump’s many distractions and renovation plans (the ballroom, the Reflecting Pool, the “triumphal arch,” etc.), a NOTUS report published a few weeks ago made the broader trend a bit more exhausting.
The report explained that the administration recently approved a $5 million no-bid contract to a gilding studio in Maryland to apply gold-toned coating to “four massive bronze horses positioned along the roads surrounding the Lincoln Memorial.”
It was tempting to think the president and the White House might find this embarrassing, since there’s no great public clamoring for such an endeavor, but on Friday afternoon, Trump started leaning into the project as if it were something people would appreciate.
“Re-gilding of the massive Arts of War sculptures, located between The Lincoln Memorial and site of The Triumphal Arch, rapidly continues,” the president wrote by way of his social media platform. “The sculptures will be fully regilded by July 3rd. … The Gilders’ Studio has flown in Gilders from around the Country to perform this work!”
This was the first time Trump promoted the project, and it was striking to see him celebrate it in such an overt way. In fact, we’re seeing a rhetorical convergence that’s both unexpected and oddly bipartisan.
On the one hand, there are the White House’s Democratic critics, who are effectively saying, “Trump is fixated on spending $5 million in public money on applying gold to some horse statues during an affordability crisis.” On the other hand, there’s the president, who’s effectively responding, “Right! Isn’t that great?”