Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

usaf-vet

(7,674 posts)
Thu Sep 4, 2025, 05:33 PM Thursday

Why Trump's Gaudy Gold Fits a Dark Tradition.

The first thing that pops into my head when they bring us into the Oval Office every few days and pan the room. I hear mom, dad, or both saying GO!! to your room and clean up all that clutter!

Trump’s Gold-Plated Ego in Historical Perspective

Donald Trump thinks gold-plated toilets, ceilings, and elevators make him look powerful. But history tells us a different story: when rulers fill every space with gold, it’s not about strength. It’s about insecurity. It’s about papering over weakness with glitter.

We’ve seen this playbook before. Versailles under Louis XIV was dripping in gold, but it bankrupted France. The Russian Tsars coated their Winter Palace in gold while millions of serfs lived in misery. Ceaușescu bulldozed neighborhoods in Romania to build his marble-and-gold “People’s Palace” while his people starved. Saddam Hussein filled dozens of palaces with gold taps and chandeliers while Iraq collapsed under sanctions.

And Trump? He’s not building Versailles or the Hermitage. He’s not even leaving behind something that future generations will turn into a museum. He’s just building brand shrines to himself—gaudy, hollow, and ultimately disposable.

The pattern is clear: gold excess has always been the language of rulers who lack legitimacy. History’s palaces left behind art, museums, or at least cautionary lessons. Trump leaves nothing but a brand and a bill.


A Closer Look at Gold and Excess Through History

Louis XIV – Versailles (France, 1600s)
Filled with mirrors, chandeliers, and endless gold leaf.
Symbolized absolute monarchy and divine right.
Bankrupted France while commoners were crushed with taxes.
Today it survives as a cultural treasure and tourist site.

Russian Tsars – Winter Palace (St. Petersburg)
Gold-encrusted halls, chapels, and imperial apartments.
Designed to present the Tsar as godlike and untouchable.
Built on the backs of serfs who lived in deep poverty.
Today it houses the Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s greatest art collections.

Nicolae Ceaușescu – “People’s Palace” (Romania, 1980s)
Vast marble and gold halls, the second largest building in the world.
Built as a monument to Ceaușescu’s ego.
Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, while Romanians went hungry.
Today it is used for parliament and museums, but it remains a national scar.

Saddam Hussein – Palaces (Iraq, 1970s–2000s)
Dozens of palaces dripping with gold taps, chandeliers, and marble.
Meant to intimidate and showcase his supposed invulnerability.
Built while ordinary Iraqis suffered through war and sanctions.
Universities or local governments have since repurposed some.

Donald J. Trump – Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago, and beyond
Gold elevators, gilded ceilings, and cluttered “luxury.”
Projects “class” and dominance for branding purposes.
No starving neighborhoods here, but it symbolizes excess and deepening inequality.
Unlike Versailles or the Hermitage, there is no lasting cultural legacy. Just branding and a bill.

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why Trump's Gaudy Gold Fits a Dark Tradition. (Original Post) usaf-vet Thursday OP
Adding Francisco Pizarro no_hypocrisy Thursday #1
I sense a pattern... róisín_dubh Thursday #2
His obsession with gold seems so 1970s clevergrrrl Thursday #3
The Guilded Pantload Blue Owl Thursday #4
A long history of gilded failures C_U_L8R Thursday #5

no_hypocrisy

(52,943 posts)
1. Adding Francisco Pizarro
Thu Sep 4, 2025, 05:45 PM
Thursday

In November 1532 CE, Francisco Pizarro led a group of about 160 conquistadors into the Inca city of Cajamarca. The illiterate and illegitimate son of an Extremaduran nobleman and an impoverished woman, Pizarro had spent his entire life on a quest to become wealthy and be remembered.

* * * *

Pizarro himself captured Atahualpa Inca.

Fearing for his life, Atahualpa told Pizarro if he would spare him, within two months his people would fill a room 24-feet long by 18-feet wide and a height of 8-feet with gold, and twice that amount with silver. Even Pizarro was taken aback by this amount of wealth and instantly agreed to the ransom.

However during the two months the gold and silver were slowly delivered, the Spanish troops and Pizarro lived with the growing and overwhelming fear that the massive Inca army may be mobilizing to take Atahualpa and kill them.

To prevent this from happening, on August 29, 1533 CE, Pizarro acted as judge, and on the basis of false charges sentenced Atahualpa to burn at the stake. Hearing of his verdict the Inca ruler asked if he could convert to Christianity. He knew if he were a Christian, the Spanish religion would not allow him to be burned to death, and he was right - instead they garroted him.

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/704/pizarro-and-atahualpa-the-curse-of-the-lost-inca-g/

clevergrrrl

(84 posts)
3. His obsession with gold seems so 1970s
Thu Sep 4, 2025, 06:03 PM
Thursday

Like he's trying to relive his Studio 54 days. Didn't Elvis have a gold plated pistol or a gold Cadillac or something?

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why Trump's Gaudy Gold Fi...