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mahatmakanejeeves

(71,827 posts)
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 02:41 PM 7 hrs ago

White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz

Source: Forbes

BREAKING BUSINESS
White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump’s Construction Blitz

By Conor Murray, Forbes Staff. Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends.
Jul 09, 2026, 02:06pm EDT

TOPLINE
The White House on Thursday hung large tarps covering the North Portico, printed with images of the columns that are under repair, as the Trump administration ramps up construction and repairs projects across Washington, D.C.


Construction workers hung tarps outside the White House's North Portico on Thursday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
GETTY IMAGES

KEY FACTS
* Tarps went up on the White House’s North Portico in the late morning on Thursday, covering scaffolding that has stood for days.
* A White House official told CNN the North Portico is “undergoing standard restoration work” to repair stones in the columns, one of several concurrent construction projects taking place at the White House and across Washington.
* Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum told podcast host Katie Miller earlier this week the North Portico columns are undergoing repairs, saying the construction should be finished “very quickly.”
* “President Trump comes out to greet a world leader, sees door dings in the pillars, and he says, ‘Look at all this stuff that needs to be repaired,’” Burgum told Miller.
* Earlier this week, Trump told reporters construction workers have “taken about 150 years of paint off of the columns and re-did them,” saying they were “in very bad shape” and “treated very badly by a lot of presidents."


The tarps are covering scaffolding outside the North Portico. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
COPYRIGHT 2026 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


Workers put up a tarp to cover the scaffolding on the North Portico of the White House, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
COPYRIGHT 2026 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2026/07/09/white-house-hangs-tarps-over-north-portico-amid-trumps-construction-blitz/



What could go wrong?

Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

https://www.joemygod.com/2026/07/printed-tarp-masks-makeover-of-white-house-columns/
43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves 7 hrs ago OP
"construction and repairs projects" tanyev 7 hrs ago #1
He's replacing those Ionic columns with Corinthian ones Ritabert 7 hrs ago #2
Gut Medicaid, shut down rural hospitals, run 5M off of the ACA with millions more Bengus81 6 hrs ago #20
His 7th bankruptcy. Ritabert 5 hrs ago #25
They're not his fucking columns. sop 5 hrs ago #29
He has even less status than a renter -- we let him live there for free... William Seger 4 hrs ago #38
Somebody feeling a little...exposed? Buddyzbuddy 7 hrs ago #3
"Door dings?" Alice B. 7 hrs ago #4
Really big doors Progressive dog 6 hrs ago #13
My "freeze and seize his assets" fantasy now includes his having to pay to put all this damage to rights... better yet, Alice B. 6 hrs ago #22
not only your fantasy rampartd 4 hrs ago #37
How is he allowed to do this KT2000 7 hrs ago #5
I would think he's allowed to do normal maintenance, Bayard 7 hrs ago #6
We need laws forbidding White House construction and destruction by any president. Lonestarblue 6 hrs ago #15
Allowed by ..... who? Srkdqltr 7 hrs ago #7
My reaction too! Alice Kramden 7 hrs ago #8
Great. Now we have a Potemkin White House. SeattleVet 7 hrs ago #9
He's going to remove the Ionic capitals (scroll shaped) and replace them with Corinthian style (probably gilded). QueerDuck 7 hrs ago #10
Another problem with Corinthian columns is they accumulate dirt more readily. Ritabert 6 hrs ago #14
Exactly! But they looks so CLASSY and REGAL... like an emperor would have! 🤢🤮 QueerDuck 6 hrs ago #17
Typical. Showy but tacky. Ritabert 5 hrs ago #24
The White House is built in the Neoclassical architectural style. QueerDuck 5 hrs ago #30
Correct. Ritabert 4 hrs ago #32
Totally unnecessary. It makes me sick. underpants 4 hrs ago #39
Agreed. It nauseates me too. QueerDuck 4 hrs ago #40
Will the White House be a murky green when done? sinkingfeeling 6 hrs ago #11
* snort * Talitha 6 hrs ago #12
We are witnessing a break away government!! bluestarone 6 hrs ago #16
Man he loves those tarps doesn't he? FakeNoose 6 hrs ago #18
Tarp futures must be going sky high. Sneederbunk 7 min ago #43
WTF? Per the 2nd photo it looks like they took a picture of the facade, blew it up and then printed it on the tarp. chowder66 6 hrs ago #19
that aint cheap. mopinko 4 hrs ago #31
Probably knows a tarp guy as well... EarthFirst 4 hrs ago #35
Dismantling the White House electron_blue 6 hrs ago #21
Just finish the job. The Madcap 5 hrs ago #23
Video here: CoopersDad 5 hrs ago #26
Same question I had for those Patriot Front goons-if you're not ashamed of what you're doing, why the mask? jls4561 5 hrs ago #27
Good point. underpants 4 hrs ago #36
This makes me heart-sick Easterncedar 5 hrs ago #28
It not only makes me heart and soul sick... slightlv 3 hrs ago #42
Piece by piece, without any authorization, Trump is destroying the White House, and no one will stop him. sop 4 hrs ago #33
And once again we need to remember and keep reminding the GOP that this is on their shoulders. Biophilic 4 hrs ago #34
Son of a bitch is gonna tear down OUR columns and replace them with his "corinthian" columns slightlv 3 hrs ago #41

tanyev

(50,013 posts)
1. "construction and repairs projects"
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 02:46 PM
7 hrs ago

All we've seen so far, Forbes, is DESTRUCTION and NOTHING has been successfully repaired.

😒

Bengus81

(10,686 posts)
20. Gut Medicaid, shut down rural hospitals, run 5M off of the ACA with millions more
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:58 PM
6 hrs ago

to follow them. Who gives a rats ass about your fucking columns Trump?

William Seger

(12,594 posts)
38. He has even less status than a renter -- we let him live there for free...
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 06:18 PM
4 hrs ago

... and this is how he treats our property.

Buddyzbuddy

(3,109 posts)
3. Somebody feeling a little...exposed?
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 02:49 PM
7 hrs ago

We know he feels a real threat which is why he left the plane.

Progressive dog

(7,659 posts)
13. Really big doors
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:42 PM
6 hrs ago

to reach the pillars. Maybe people used to be 25 feet tall and a little bigger around than Trump.
IMO Just a poor excuse for having the pillars painted gold.

Alice B.

(770 posts)
22. My "freeze and seize his assets" fantasy now includes his having to pay to put all this damage to rights... better yet,
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 04:13 PM
6 hrs ago

He has to work on a crew doing it as public service.

Remember that movie The Super?

rampartd

(5,808 posts)
37. not only your fantasy
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 06:09 PM
4 hrs ago

states should begin civil forfeiture on the proceeds of their crime.

KT2000

(22,291 posts)
5. How is he allowed to do this
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:07 PM
7 hrs ago

He is tearing up DC according to his own bad taste with no approval. He does not own any of this.

Bayard

(30,827 posts)
6. I would think he's allowed to do normal maintenance,
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:14 PM
7 hrs ago

But not total replacement of anything. Unless he pulls another East Wing demolition style.

Lonestarblue

(13,684 posts)
15. We need laws forbidding White House construction and destruction by any president.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:49 PM
6 hrs ago

We have a historic commission, and members should not be chosen for political loyalties but for historical expertise. They should be in charge of repairs and restoration, not the president. It is not his house.

Alice Kramden

(3,000 posts)
8. My reaction too!
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:21 PM
7 hrs ago

There are no norms, no process - and everybody just goes along with this destruction

QueerDuck

(2,444 posts)
10. He's going to remove the Ionic capitals (scroll shaped) and replace them with Corinthian style (probably gilded).
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:25 PM
7 hrs ago

Currently, the White House porticos feature Ionic capitals characterized by scroll-shaped spirals called volutes. The more decorative (and tacky) style proposed to replace them is the Corinthian style, which features elaborately carved acanthus leaves. --- But gilded... oooo! So classy, eh? He's turning the White House into a Baroque Brothel


QueerDuck

(2,444 posts)
30. The White House is built in the Neoclassical architectural style.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 05:28 PM
5 hrs ago

Following expansions and rebuilds overseen by figures like Benjamin Henry Latrobe in the early 1800s, the structure integrated subtle Federal-style motifs and American materials, grounding its European geometry into a distinct American identity.

He wants to convert the White House portico into something that resembles a cathedral or temple. He's trying to turn the White House from a people's house into one that says "wealth" and "power" ... something that one would see at the Parthenon.

He's such a crass man... with tiny fingers and a mushroom dick (according to Stormy Daniels).

bluestarone

(22,636 posts)
16. We are witnessing a break away government!!
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:49 PM
6 hrs ago

Everything they do is just like they are doing with ICE All COVERED (MASKED) up so nobody can witness or investigate ANYTHING!!

chowder66

(12,746 posts)
19. WTF? Per the 2nd photo it looks like they took a picture of the facade, blew it up and then printed it on the tarp.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 03:56 PM
6 hrs ago

EarthFirst

(4,277 posts)
35. Probably knows a tarp guy as well...
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 05:35 PM
4 hrs ago

…the no bid was probably close to $250,000 at which point six weeks later we’ll find out that they aren’t UV tolerant; need replacing; and the cost will skyrocket to over three quarters of a million dollars.

The Madcap

(2,245 posts)
23. Just finish the job.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 04:35 PM
5 hrs ago

After the WH is destroyed, he should move on to deconstructing Mar A Lardo.

jls4561

(3,359 posts)
27. Same question I had for those Patriot Front goons-if you're not ashamed of what you're doing, why the mask?
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 05:24 PM
5 hrs ago

slightlv

(8,279 posts)
42. It not only makes me heart and soul sick...
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 07:01 PM
3 hrs ago

it absolutely enrages me! But one thing I've discovered through the years that I can do better when I'm enraged like this is work it out through cleaning. I don't know if you read my story of a few days ago of the flying mailbox and my exploding bathroom. Life has not exactly been easy around here at Casa Pie ligero (as close as I can come in spanish). So... I've determined I'm going to take my rage at this news and finish cleaning the mess in the bathroom. How fitting, since all he truly is was what my bathroom was filled with a few days ago! (I know... sorry... TMI)

sop

(20,083 posts)
33. Piece by piece, without any authorization, Trump is destroying the White House, and no one will stop him.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 05:33 PM
4 hrs ago

Biophilic

(6,847 posts)
34. And once again we need to remember and keep reminding the GOP that this is on their shoulders.
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 05:34 PM
4 hrs ago

No one else is responsible for this destruction and pillage. The GOP owns this man and what he is doing. All of it.

slightlv

(8,279 posts)
41. Son of a bitch is gonna tear down OUR columns and replace them with his "corinthian" columns
Thu Jul 9, 2026, 06:56 PM
3 hrs ago

that he's so enamored with. Damn him! HOW can we stop him from complete destroying OUR HOUSE?! And he thinks he can hang a huge tarp and we're stupid enough not to know what's going on behind there? No... I've now decided prison is too good for him. For destroying the Constitution, for having our service men and women undermine their oaths of office by obeying their superiors and actually disobeying the Constitution at times, and for destroying the People's House and multiple Monuments, the Man *must be found guilty and executed by firing squad in public (pay for view is optional).

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