Trump claims "affordability issue is DEAD" as he continues to gild White House
Washington DC - President Donald Trump kept up his luxurious makeover of the White House as the ongoing government shutdown continued to ravage the US.
On Wednesday, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins shared an X post that included a photo featuring a paper sign hanging near a door of the White House that had "The Oval Office" scrawled in gold, cursive script.
The bizarre addition comes as Trump has been remodeling the White House in the image of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida since the beginning of his second term – complete with gold-coated decorations and furniture.
The sign also went up as the US continues to endure a record-breaking government shutdown that appears to have no end in sight, and has already begun causing affordability issues for many Americans.
Democratic Congressman Malcolm Kenyatta of Pennsylvania said in an X post that the sign "looks like s***," and pointed out that the shutdown has caused 43 million Americans to loss access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and are "weeks away from health care costs exploding even more."
Democratic Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware joked in a post, "I wish they would focus on helping struggling Americans, but this isn't a good sign."
California Governor Gavin Newsom trolled the president by sharing an edited version of the sign that read "Live, Laugh, Lose," referencing a number of major electoral wins for Democrats on Tuesday.
Trump claims things have never been better
Despite rising economic concerns amid the shutdown and his cratering poll numbers, Trump continued to insist that America is in the best shape it's ever been.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday, Trump claimed that according to Walmart, "2025 Thanksgiving dinner under Trump is 25% lower than 2024 Thanksgiving dinner under [former President Joe Biden]."
"My cost are lower than the Democrats on everything, especially oil and gas!" Trump added. "So the Democrats 'affordability' issue is DEAD! STOP LYING!!!"
Cover photo: Collage: SAUL LOEB / AFP & Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP