President Donald Trump has converted his son-in-law’s former White House office into a personal storage space crammed with newspapers, paintings, trinkets, campaign merchandise, and gifts, according to a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
Hoarding Habits Return to White House
The book, titled Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, describes the 80-year-old president as an inveterate hoarder who cannot part with accumulated items. White House aides previously dubbed his document collections Beautiful Mind boxes, a reference to containers holding newspapers and official papers Trump keeps nearby. Staff members indicated these materials appear to provide the president with a sense of security, a pattern documented since 2023.
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The hoarding behavior gained national attention during Trump’s 2023 federal indictment alongside personal aide Walt Nauta for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Prosecutors accused Trump of transporting top-secret materials to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida after his 2020 reelection loss, including documents about nuclear programs and military vulnerabilities. Department of Justice photographs revealed multiple rooms filled with boxes containing classified papers mixed with newspaper clippings, clothing, and campaign paraphernalia.
White House Renovations Draw Scrutiny
Trump’s storage habits represent just one of several controversial changes to the presidential residence. The administration demolished the East Wing to construct a ballroom vanity project with costs ballooning to 600 million dollars. Trump ordered the historic Rose Garden paved over with concrete, transforming it into a patio resembling a Palm Beach restaurant. Gold cursive lettering now labels both the Rose Garden and Oval Office.
The president personally handles some decoration decisions, having been observed using Super Glue to attach gold decals throughout the Oval Office. According to Regime Change, aides now carry Trump’s document collections loose rather than in the Beautiful Mind boxes used during his first term.
Constitutional and Security Concerns
The indictment documents revealed Trump participated personally in packing materials into boxes before departing the White House in January 2021. Legal experts raised concerns about mixing classified government documents with personal items, creating potential security vulnerabilities. The White House has not responded to requests for comment regarding the storage practices or ongoing document handling procedures. These revelations add to ongoing debates about presidential record-keeping requirements and adherence to protocols governing classified information, issues that remain relevant to constitutional governance and national security.