Cabinet Session Brings Out the Full Trump

BY ANNIE LINSKEY

WASHINGTON— Donald Trump approaches the interior design of the White House much like he does the rest of his presidency: by tapping powers that others left dormant or delegated.

“If I see anything that I like, I’m allowed to take it,” Trump told reporters Tuesday during a meeting in the newly overhauled Cabinet Room in the West Wing.

He had gathered his closest advisers there for an unorthodox cabinet meeting. In most White Houses, these largely take place behind closed doors—with reporters allowed to peek in for just a few moments. In Trump’s White House, they have become hourslong sessions that unfold before television cameras and showcase his impulses.

During Tuesday’s edition, Trump discussed how he personally sifted through the White House archives for paintings he wanted to display in the Cabinet Room—and selected matching frames. He picked out one painting from a private room in the White House so it could be displayed more prominently. And he even grabbed a grandfather clock from the State Department after admiring it on a visit to Foggy Bottom.

“Marco, I love this clock,” Trump recalled saying to Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the visit. After initially trying to persuade Rubio to give up the clock, he changed tactics: “I said, ‘Marco, I have the right to do it.’” On display was the humor that his supporters love alongside the casual references to robust executive power and policy upheavals that his critics fear.

He labeled CNN “the enemy” while also taking several questions from CNN’s correspondent in the room (“I like to watch the enemy. You learn from the enemy,” Trump said). He mused about his dislike of windmills (recalling how one friend was upset they were “different shapes, different sizes, different colors”). And then he discussed the merits of a federal takeover of Washing--ton (“We could run D.C. I mean, we’re looking at D.C.,” he said).

There was no shortage of news. Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Russia, accusing the country’s leader, Vladimir Putin, of being dishonest, and he said he’s eyeing a bill that would place sanctions or tariffs on countries that assist Russia’s invasion.

He said he might send a letter to the European Union threatening to impose steep tariffs. Members of the Brics bloc of nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa— will pay an additional 10% tariff, he said.

The meeting began with a somber report about the deadly floods in Texas from Kristi Noem, who leads the Homeland Security Department and toured the area recently. As Noem spoke about comforting victims’ families, her voice wavered and her colleagues put down their phones and pens to listen. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth placed his fingertips on the table in front of him and bowed his head with his eyes closed, as if in prayer.

Such attentiveness from all didn’t last the full meeting.

As the topics moved on to more mundane subjects, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy doodled on his notepad, writing words in block letters and then coloring them in. Perhaps aware of the photographers around him, Duffy later turned over his notes. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles wrote in a tight cursive that couldn’t quite be made out.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s notepad included many on-message phrases. “Parallel prosperity” was written at the top along with “ blue collar boom.” As the conversation turned to tariffs, he wrote “tariffs” on his pad and later fiddled with his pen.

Trump made his affection for Bessent clear during the meeting, at one point appearing to hint that he would be a good pick to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

It was the first cabinet meeting since adviser Elon Musk left the White House and other personalities expanded to fill the void left by the billionaire’s oversize personality. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, for instance, prompted Trump to reveal new industry-specific tariffs.

“Why don’t you announce copper?” Lutnick offered as Trump ticked through industries that he has already hit with tariffs. The news caused copper prices to soar to a new high.

Toward the end of the meeting, Trump began polling his cabinet secretaries on whether he should have gold leaf applied to the crown molding in the Cabinet Room.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said he should.