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The Oval Workplace, a room well-known for its distinct ovum—er, oval—form, has grow to be synonymous with American democracy and the president himself. It is no surprise that every government has sought to personalize their backdrop.
The room has been the principle government workplace since President William Howard Taft ordered a southward extension of the West Wing in 1909. The growth was meant to imitate the form of the Blue Room, the White Home’s different oval-shaped room, which included a semicircle design overseen by President George Washington. Washington was the one president to by no means reside within the White Home, however his desire for oval-shaped rooms to obtain company with presidential drama and ritual has grow to be customary.
Administrations succeeding Taft’s have since altered the Oval Workplace’s decor to go well with every president’s preferences. Shortly after returning to the White Home for his second time period, President Donald Trump eliminated the darkish blue Clinton-era rug introduced out of retirement by Joe Biden and changed it with the lighter, egg-colored rug utilized by Ronald Reagan.
Since Trump entered the world of politics, he has fancied himself a successor of Reagan and his insurance policies. However not like when he unveiled the Reagan rug firstly of his first time period, there’s much more proof now that Trump and Reagan share little else in frequent.
One stark distinction is Trump’s immigration insurance policies. Whereas Reagan sought to tighten border safety with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Management Act, he additionally granted amnesty for practically 3 million undocumented immigrants residing in america. Lower than 100 days underneath Trump’s course, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at present detains near 48,000 migrants and controversially shipped 238 people in ICE custody to El Salvador, elevating critical due course of considerations and authorized questions. Trump could even have acted in contempt of court docket by defying a federal choose’s order to show across the El Salvador–certain planes. To this point, it appears Trump’s immigration crackdown has been something however “affordable, honest, orderly, and safe,” as was Reagan’s goal.
Trump additionally differs from Reagan over his second-largest agenda merchandise: tariffs. In solely his first three months, Trump has rattled markets worldwide as a result of unpredictability of his commerce battle. The fallout from his “Liberation Day” tariff announcement prompted many to cite none apart from Reagan himself on the hazards of partaking in commerce wars. Reagan advocated at no cost commerce, believing that prime tariffs solely damage People in the long term and that commerce wars “weake[n] our financial system, our nationwide safety, and your complete free world.” In distinction, despite the fact that Trump instituted a 90-day pause for his tariffs, tensions with China have solely continued to rise, resulting in tariffs as excessive as 245 p.c for sure items.
So whereas Trump could have introduced again Reagan’s rug, it is clear he is cracked away from a lot of the previous president’s legacy. Fashion is simple to copy, however substance is more durable to return by.
