Yello Brand Guide: Trump's redesign problem
Trump's efforts to redesign Washington and the government couldn't come at a worse time for him.
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Editorial:
Hey, it’s Hunter. President Donald Trump called himself “an important designer” during a fundraiser for his planned White House ballroom last year, but with his approval tanking and the ballroom now on ice, I can’t help but wonder how badly his preoccupation with his extra-constitutional role as designer-in-chief is hurting him politically.
A federal judge ordered construction on the ballroom to halt on Tuesday, the day after the art group The Secret Handshake installed a gold-and-marble bathroom installation on the National Mall (see today’s “Street Art Sightings”). As Trump works to Mar-a-Lagoify Washington, D.C., his aesthetic now makes for an easily-understood punchline, not to mention it feels increasingly out of touch in a country that’s growing more uneasy about the economy.
Consider: while Trump works to renovate his temporary home, Home Depot reported in its most recent earnings call that home improvement activity is down, and the company cut its full-year outlook. Read the room.
A wartime president, Trump nevertheless spends an inordinate amount of time talking about his elective construction work. During his White House address to the nation Wednesday night, Trump failed to clearly articulate a rationale for the Iran war, but after architectural critics criticized his bad ballroom design, he brought props on Air Force One to defend the project.
As I’ve covered the Trump administration’s efforts to put Trump’s name, likeness, and design preferences front and center on everything from currency to buildings since he took office for a second term, it’s clear no one really wants this but Trump. Still, these efforts are ramping up in earnest as Trump’s approval sinks. Trump posted a video this week imagining a future presidential library that’s a Miami hotel tower with Air Force One in the lobby and golden statues of him even as polling from YouGov and the Economist found his approval at 35%.
The people are certainly in no mood to build statues to Trump, so he’s pushing to build them himself.
History of American design:
Earth Day poster (1970). The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, and this poster, for an event at Union Square in New York City, was put out to promote it by the group Environmental Action Coalition. It’s estimated 20 million people in the U.S. participated that year, making it the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.
Fallingwater (1936-1937). Construction began 100 years ago this month on architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous home, which was built over a stream southeast of Pittsburgh. The building became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019, and there’s a livestream on YouTube you can watch 24/7.
The best of Yello:
Street art sightings:
“A Throne Fit for a King.”A faux gold-and-marble toilet went up on the National Mall from the public art group the Secret Handshake, which was behind a statue of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein there last month. The installation pokes fun at Trump’s reported renovation of the Lincoln Bathroom. Yes, you can sit on it, and yes, tourists love it.
