Would pronouncements from the Beige House with the Green Shutters be taken as seriously?
It would rightly be considered a stupid and wasteful thing to do.
And given that the expenditure to do so would have to be approved by Congress first, I don’t see it happening.
And no, any President determined to paint the White House beige with green shutters would not be taken very seriously, either domestically or internationally.
It would still be called The White House.
Money? Every first lady makes the house over in her style. New china, decorating, red christmas trees, etc. Basically a waste of money. They have the money. They could paint it like a rainbow. For the price of one presidential overseas trip they could throw in the Capitol, too.
But, in the spirit of inclusiveness for our Spanish speaking citizens, they should rename it Casa Blanca.
Would it be wasteful? Surely it has to be painted from time to time anyways, right?
(ETA, yes, it gets repainted every 4 - 6 years, or so says the internet)
Look, I think we’ve already had the only President who would consider it, and neither he nor his first lady did it. So I think we’re safe… for now.
“Many people, big strong architects, have come up to me with tears in their eyes and they’ve said ‘Sir, we’ve never been more proud to be Americans. The pink, the aqua, and ALL this gilding on your palatial residence means our country truly is… the greatest.’
And this is the greatest, it’s greater than the Taj Mahal or Ver-sails… they say Vair-size over there, no one knows that, but I just found that out…”
“And of course, you all remember the beautiful Christmas decorations that my even more beautiful wife put up in the White House. Well, hope you like the bare black trees with huge swaths of red and black, because that’s what the White House lawn is going to look like!”
Truman gutted the White House to the walls. Totally rebuilt the interior. AFAIK there were no restrictions on the design or work.
They found charred timbers from the War of 1812. The British burned the White House.
There are photos somewhere on the Internet.
I don’t think Truman considered a different exterior color.
Truman did change the exterior with the Truman Balcony.
No Democrat would do this, because no matter what color they painted it, it would be labelled “gay”.
A Republican could paint it any way they liked, because no matter how awful it was, Republican voters would declare it the Greatest Paint Job Ever, and Democrats would just say, “Well, at least he’s not fucking the couches.”
ETA: also compare to Canada’s trials and tribulations with 24 Sussex.
I was just in the White House two weeks ago (as part of a public tour) and it’s not even close to immaculate. It’s all very impressive but not because it’s preserved in time or gleaming. In other words, if there was much appetite for changing the appearance of the WH, there are plenty of areas to start small.
The White House is maintained at about the level I’d expect from a 3 star hotel or major casino. Nice, very nice with plenty of amenities but easy to find signs of use and needing perpetual maintenance day and night.
The White House is under the National Park Service, so the president would likely have to gut the NPS leadership to get such a change approved. Uproar would be significant. I guess if he tried hard enough he could have the Liberty Bell repaired (recast) as well.
I hope they contact the HOA about those green shutters, first.
The one republican that had a chance to actually atttempt do this had already declared it a dump. It didn’t appear to worthy of a gold paint job or a big gold sign of his name on it.
I believe it’s official name is still “The Executive Mansion”
He probably found out that they wouldn’t reimburse him if he paid for it himself, and that he couldn’t funnel the job to Trump Paint Co. if he used tax money.
If a rich and good president wanted to cut out the red tape and write a check of $50 million out of his own personal estate to pay for renovations, would Congress allow it? Assuming it’s reasonable things like a new lumbar mattress to sleep on, new piping, replacing moldy stuff, etc.
I agree. If a President tried to paint the White House a different color, he would be reminded that the White House doesn’t belong to him.
I hope Michelle’s White House garden is still being used. I remember they did landscaping with heavy stones that made it semi-permanent.
It’s a relatively small expense to staff a couple gardeners. Provide fresh vegetables for the White House kitchen. The Obamas were giving the extra to food banks.
The gov web site is still up. Can’t tell if the content is current.
It was still there and in use last I checked.
Like the rest of the White House the National Park Service “own” it, but apparently the Burpee Seed Company subsidizes it as well.