President Trump made some big league changes to the White House grounds on Thursday, installing a pair of massive flagpoles on the North and South Lawns.
The real estate mogul, who is famous for doing everything on a "big, beautiful" scale, showed off the fresh renovations with enthusiasm.
“This is the real deal,” he said. “This is the best you can get. There’s nothing like this.”
For about an hour, the former real estate developer supervised the project while riffing with reporters on the political news of the day.
The president was asked about the crisis in Iran, which has presented him with a pivotal choice whether to enter a new Middle Eastern conflict - but he offered few details on geopolitics as he discussed the flag poles with a builder's passion.
“I love construction,” he added. “I love it, I know it better than anybody.”
“They put sand inside, and if they use dirt or anything else other than sand, it rots out the pole over a period of years. But sand, for some reason, chemically just works," he said. "It gives you flexibility and it doesn’t do anything to the cask,” he said.
“It’s such a beautiful pole,” Trump said.
Trump said he has wanted to do this for some time, but he was distracted during his first term by witch hunts. Now, he's "the hunter."
“I’ve had it for a long time. In the first term I had it, but, you know, you guys were after me. I said I had to focus. I was the hunted. And now I’m the hunter. There’s a big difference,” he said.
Trump also came with jokes, as usual, asking the hard-hatted workers if any of them were in the country illegally.
"We're taking them out by the thousands. Murderers, drug dealers, people that are mentally insane, from insane asylums," Trump said.
"Do we have anybody here who's a member of -- no, I don't think so. You've known these people for a long time?" he asked. "Any illegal immigrants?"
When the job was finished, Trump returned and saluted Old Glory.
The president has added gold touches to the Oval Office, and he is installing a patio in the Rose Garden, opulent renovations that have drawn criticism from those who compare him to an aspiring "king."
With his "beautiful" flagpoles, Trump is leaving another stamp of his personality on the White House - while honoring America's democracy at the same time.
