Donald Trump has triggered a fresh wave of controversy andhealth speculationafter describing theWhite House as a 's---house'and claiming he personally paid for renovations during a rambling live television appearance in Washington this week.
For context, the 79-year-old president was speaking to reporters when he launched into a complaint about the state of the White House before what he portrayed as his refurbishment.
In footage widely shared on social media, Donald Trump accused previous occupants of neglecting the building, then swerved into a half-censored slur that has now become the viral centrepiece of the debate over his well-being.
'This place was not properly taken care of,' he said, recounting advice he claimed to have received from his wife about moderating his language. 'I was told by my wife 'You have to act presidential, so don't use foul language.' I won't. Therefore, normally I would have said it was a s---house, but I don't want to say that.'
The line drew laughs in the room. Online, it set off something closer to an alarm.
🚨 NOW: President Trump RIPS past presidents for letting the White House become a dilapidated "SH*T HOUSE" until he renovated it"I was told by my wife 'you have to act presidential, so don't use foul language.' I won't. Therefore, normally I would have said it was a SH*T…pic.twitter.com/5eInAm6xjN
The clip, circulated repeatedly on X/Twitter and other platforms, shows Donald Trump dwelling on the condition of the White House with a level of detail that some viewers found unsettling rather than funny.
'The columns were falling down, the plaster was falling off, you made a speech, and I was saying, 'couldn't you fix up the paint job up there?'' he continued. 'You know, it looked like, and this place is tippy top now, including all the brand-new beautiful stone.' He then added, with evident pride: 'I paid for it myself.'
🇺🇸 How Trump is reshaping Washington, DCFrom tearing down the White House East Wing to planning to build a giant triumphal arch, in just over a year, US President Donald Trump has undertaken several architectural projects in the country’s capital Washington.pic.twitter.com/F5BOy9JmPi
There is no independent confirmation in the footage that Trump personally funded the work, and no supporting evidence is cited in the clip. That gap, coupled with the meandering structure of his remarks, fed into a narrative that something might be amiss.
Source: International Business Times UK
