President Trump Shares Photos of White House Column Bases on Truth Social

President Trump posted close-up photographs Friday on Truth Social of the bases beneath columns at the White House north entrance. He described the surfaces as deplorable and said the area had remained in that state for years. The president wrote that the work would turn the entrance into a symbol of extraordinary beauty and pride.

A tarp had covered the north entrance the week before the post. Archival images show the column bases have changed appearance over time. A 1983 U.S. Department of the Interior report photograph depicts clean vertical lines and a stone-like finish distinct from the columns above.

An approximately 1900 image from Scenic Marvels of the New World shows darker paint at the base before the white columns. The north portico was designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and completed during President James Monroe's administration after the War of 1812.

The White House underwent major reconstruction from 1948 to 1952 under President Harry Truman after engineers found the structure unsound.

During President Trump's second term. , and the country. Separately, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in late 2025 to stop a proposed ballroom project. In March, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon halted portions of that project, ruling the administration likely needed congressional approval.

A federal appeals court heard arguments in June. The administration maintains the president holds broad authority to renovate the White House complex.