The Oval Office was redecorated in the hours between Obama’s exit from the White House and Trump’s arrival. | Getty Churchill bust returns to Trump's gilded Oval Office

President Donald Trump has returned a bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office—undoing former President Barack Obama's most contentious interior decorating decision.

The Oval Office was redecorated in the hours between Obama’s exit from the White House and Trump’s arrival, and as always, the choices reflect the new president’s interests and priorities.


The Churchill bust had become a source of huge Republican outcry through the Obama presidency, with critics charging that then-president was turning his back on history and insulting America’s strongest ally. There were claims that Obama had put it in storage or returned it to the British government as a metaphor for his changing worldview—but none of those were true. He had moved it to a different place in the White House, in the Treaty Room on the second floor, which is in the residence, out of public view.

But that didn’t satisfy critics, including now-British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, who last spring used its supposed removal as a proof point in explaining why in his opinion Obama had distanced himself from the British and should stay out of warning against Brexit.

Trump promised Brexit leader Nigel Farage during the campaign that he’d return it to the Oval Office, and doing so has now become one of his first acts as president.

Trump also added a bust of President Theodore Roosevelt to a bookshelf. He’s removed a special carpet Obama had made which was ringed with favorite quotes from historical figures and replaced it with a simpler one. Some of the artwork on the walls has been changed. The curtains behind the Resolute Desk, crimson on Friday morning as Obama left, are now gold.

Trump does not have any family photos on display, as Obama did.

