As the nation inches toward a government shutdown and millions brace to lose food benefits, the White House is once again making headlines, this time over a toilet. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to show off his latest White House makeover, unveiling photos of a gleaming, marble-clad Lincoln Bathroom, just as the country faces a food stamp crisis.
“I renovated the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era. I did it in black and white polished Statuary marble. This was very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!” the president wrote
Letting Americans starve doesn’t horrify them.
Letting healthcare costs triple doesn’t horrify them.
Letting our troops go unpaid doesn’t horrify them.
A toilet does. https://t.co/IkeyUhpzec
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 1, 2025
But what really got people talking was Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s reaction. “When I first learned a toilet like that existed inside the White House, I was horrified. President Trump is making the People’s House more elegant and beautiful for generations of Americans to come!” Her gushing praise for a bathroom, shared while 40 million Americans are set to lose their SNAP benefits, didn’t sit well with critics.
Enter California Governor Gavin Newsom, who didn’t hold back. “Letting Americans starve doesn’t horrify them. Letting healthcare costs triple doesn’t horrify them. Letting our troops go unpaid doesn’t horrify them. A toilet does.” The new images from the Lincoln Bathroom reveal a lavish, all-marble interior complete with a chandelier, gold-toned fixtures, and a walk-in shower framed in gold trim. It looks more like a luxury hotel suite than a presidential washroom
Earlier this month, Trump defended the renovation, taking aim at the bathroom’s old design. “The bathroom was done by the Truman family a long time ago and done in green tile, and it’s done as – in a style that was not exactly Abe Lincoln,” the president said. “It’s a style that is not good … it is actually art deco and art deco doesn’t go with 1850 and civil wars. So, I ripped it apart and we built a bathroom that’s absolutely gorgeous and totally keeping in that time because the Lincoln bedroom is so incredible for those of you who have seen it.
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The president’s bathroom brag comes amid his massive $300 million East Wing ballroom project, privately funded but slammed for extravagance while Americans struggle with soaring prices and a looming SNAP shutdown. At the same time, 25 states have filed a lawsuit against the administration, demanding the release of $6 billion in emergency SNAP funds. The USDA has warned that food stamp benefits will dry up for millions starting November 1. As one critic put it on social media: “Americans can’t afford groceries, and the White House is showing off marble toilets.”
