President Donald Trump, famous for his love of gold, toured the opulently gilded Versailles palace on Wednesday alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, and the Republican used the royal venue for some high-level statecraft of his own, signing the Iran deal during the visit.
“It’s signed, yeah,” Trump told reporters as he left dinner with Macron at the palace. “I signed it in Versailles.”
The signing was something of a surprise, and prior to the visit, Trump had described the upcoming tour as more about architectural appreciation than international diplomacy
“I’m a fan of beautiful places,” Trump said Tuesday of his decision to accept Macron’s invitation to tour the palace. “And Versailles is not a gold leaf. Versailles is the real deal.”
The eventual signing may have been an attempt by Trump to add himself to the annals of European history; U.S. and European leaders signed the 1919 Treaty of Versailles there that ended World War I in 1919.
Upon arriving on Wednesday evening, Trump again praised the palace’s beauty, thanking the French president and First Lady Brigitte Macron.
“This is so beautiful, and we thank the president,” Trump told a group of waiting reporters. “Brigitte is an amazing woman.”
As photographers snapped pictures of the trio, a reporter shouted out a question about whether Trump would do more to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The American president smiled wordlessly and kept walking with his French hosts.
Inside, prior to the signing, Trump took in the splendor of the palace, which features more than 1,000 kilograms of 22-carat gold across its iconic gates, sculptures, and interior trim.
Tourists outside complained that Trump’s visit shut down access to the French landmark.
“We came out here expecting to go inside,” visitor Ben Olson told The Associated Press. “That is not the case today as we learned upon our arrival, so it’s quite unfortunate.”
“I don’t know what they’re going to talk about,” he added. “I don’t know what their relationship is like. Personally, I dislike Trump, so it’s ever more disappointing that that’s the reason it’s closed today.”
Gold is the president’s aesthetic signature, adorning his company’s logo and the famous escalator in Trump Tower, which he used to announce his 2016 presidential campaign.
Since returning to office, the president has decked out the White House in numerous bits of Versailles-esque, gold-toned trim, and he and his aides regularly proclaim the U.S. is living through a new “Golden Age” under his leadership. He also rolled out a “gold card” visa for wealthy immigrants.
The Republican is so enamored with Versailles that he previously said he modeled a ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago club after the palace.
“I modeled the interior after Versailles, and there is nothing like it in the United States,” Trump said in a 2005 magazine interview.
Foreign leaders have picked up on Trump’s love of all things gold, often incorporating it into elaborate gifts.
Trump has gotten a golden pager from Benjamin Netanyahu, a golden replica crown from a Korean delegation, a gold-and-glass plaque from the CEO of Apple, and a gold Rolex desk clock from a group of Swiss leaders.
Versailles, whose gold-flecked incarnation was meant to embody the power and prestige of Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” eventually became a symbol of the decadence of the French monarchy.
A 1789 march on Versailles was among the key moments of the French Revolution, and Versailles continues to be used as a byword for opulent and out-of-touch leaders.
Doubters have referenced the French palace as part of their criticisms against Trump’s proposed $600 million ballroom complex at the White House, which is being funded through a mix of public money and high-dollar donations from large corporations.
“Trump could spend his time fighting childhood hunger, reforming healthcare, or building affordable housing,” Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts wrote on X in August of the project, sharing a rendering of the gilded ballroom design. “Instead, he’s focused on turning the White House into Versailles. His billionaire buddies get a tacky ballroom to feast on champagne & caviar. The rest of us? Let them eat cake!”
The president has embraced a similar royal preoccupation with fountains and classical monuments as part of his efforts to renovate Washington.
His administration has poured millions of dollars, thus far with uneven results, into cleaning up the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and the White House has proposed a French-style victory arch for the capital.
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