Donald Trump’s Golden Obsession Goes Too Far as New Tarps Pop Up in Washington—and What’s Secretly Hiding Behind Them Has Folks Outraged

President Donald Trump’s effort to change the appearance of Washington, D.C., has turned several of the city’s best-known landmarks into construction sites.

For months, large white covers have hidden monuments and government buildings while workers carry out expensive restoration projects. Critics say the huge coverings are becoming almost as noticeable as the landmarks underneath them.

Trump has openly spoken about his desire to give Washington a new look. Many of his changes include bright gold decorations, both inside the White House and around the city.

Last month, Trump proudly unveiled the restored Arts of War statues near the Lincoln Memorial. The sculptures are now covered in 23-karat gold leaf, giving them a bright and shiny appearance.

The statues were originally commissioned in 1929 to complete the Lincoln Memorial area. However, financial problems delayed the project for many years. They were finally made in 1950, installed in 1951 and repaired in 1974.

One of the statues shows Pegasus, the winged horse from Greek mythology, alongside figures representing music and farming.

Trump said workers had simply cleaned the statues, but their new gold appearance is very different from their former bronze colour. Critics say the design looks similar to the gold decorations Trump has added to the White House.

Large covers have also been placed around parts of the White House’s North Portico. Workers are repairing the outside of the building, removing old paint and cleaning the stone. Officials insist that the coverings are normal safety measures used during construction and were not installed for political reasons.

The two Arts of Peace statues are also hidden behind white covers while work continues. Reports say they will have the same bright gold finish as the Arts of War statues when they are finally revealed.

However, the changes have received strong criticism online. Some people described the gold appearance as “tacky,” while others accused the administration of damaging historic bronze statues and wasting taxpayers’ money.

One person compared the statues to the gold-filled interior of the White House. Another said the original bronze appearance had been ruined. Other critics demanded that the work should stop and questioned how much public money was being spent.

According to the National Park Service, restoration work on the statues is expected to continue until September.

The statue project is reportedly one of more than a dozen major construction schemes planned during Trump’s second term. Together, the projects are expected to cost more than $1 billion.

The White House itself has spent much of the summer hidden behind protective screens while renovation work continues. Another covered construction project at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool also caused weeks of speculation.

Trump had blamed vandalism and other damage for problems at the pool. However, disputes involving contractors and questions about the project continued while the area remained hidden behind barriers. When the finished work was eventually revealed, its appearance and multimillion-dollar price attracted further criticism.

Trump’s administration has also spent more than $95 million on improvements to National Park Service parks and monuments. His wider plans reportedly include a proposed $100 million Triumphal Arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, changes to the White House Rose Garden and more gold decorations inside the Oval Office.

Some critics have compared the spending to the construction of the Palace of Versailles in France, arguing that leaders should not spend large amounts of money on grand buildings while ordinary people struggle financially. Others said the enormous covers could not hide what they believed was a waste of public money.

Trump has repeatedly used large tarps to hide major construction projects until he is ready to reveal the finished result.

One of the most controversial examples involved the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Trump’s appointed board added his name to the famous building, but a federal judge later ruled that only Congress had the power to rename it.

Workers then covered the front of the Kennedy Center with huge tarps and scaffolding before Trump’s name was reportedly removed overnight.

Court documents later confirmed that the building’s original name had been restored. However, the covers remained in place for several more weeks. This led US District Judge Christopher Cooper to demand an explanation for why they had not been removed.

The Kennedy Center board was given an August 20 deadline to explain the delay.

It remains unclear whether the latest coverings will be removed quietly or whether Trump will announce another major unveiling on social media. But one thing is becoming increasingly obvious: in Trump’s Washington, the giant construction tarps are becoming almost as familiar as the famous monuments they are hiding.