Former President Barack Obama made a light-hearted comment about President Donald Trump’s changes to the Oval Office in a behind-the-scenes clip shared by HBO on Monday, August 10.In the video, Obama joked about the gold signs Trump added outside the famous room.
The clip was part of a show called Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, which Obama worked on with comedian Larry David.
In the video, Obama entered a recreated Oval Office from 2014 that was built for the show and praised the team for how well they had done.
He said, “Nice job on the recreation,” and noticed a fruit bowl, adding, “You even have the apples.” He called the setup “fantastic.”
Obama then pointed out what was missing.
“I do want to point out,” he said, “there’s no gold sign on the outside that says ‘Oval Office.’” This made everyone laugh.
He followed up with a joke: “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
Even though Obama didn’t say Trump’s name, he quickly moved on, saying, “Thank you, everybody, this is pretty magnificent.”
Trump added gold lettering to the White House exterior in December 2025 to mark the Oval Office.
The sign was part of a bigger renovation that included gold leaf, fancy doorframes, cherubs, and ceiling details.
Inside the Oval Office, Trump added gold touches around the presidential seal, gold statues on the fireplace, and more portraits on the walls.
Obama had criticized Trump’s changes before.
At a campaign event in Virginia in November 2025, Obama joked about Trump’s focus, saying he was “focused on critical issues like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes.
And gold-plating the Oval Office and building a $300 million ballroom.”
Trump responded by saying Washington, D.C., looked “better than ever” because of the renovations.
Obama’s connection to the show Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness came through a brief cameo in the premiere where he introduced the show.
He also appeared in the final episode, playing a version of himself from 2014.
One scene in the final episode turned a real moment from Obama’s time in office into a comedy.
Larry David’s character spilled a Mango Tango smoothie on Obama’s blue suit and suggested he wear a tan suit instead, referencing the tan-suit controversy that made headlines during Obama’s presidency.
The final episode of the show aired on HBO Max on Friday, August 7.
In the behind-the-scenes clip, Obama showed off his humor.
He joked about not letting Larry David drink from his smoothie glass because he didn’t want the comedian’s “old lips” on it.
Jeff Schaffer, the executive producer and director, told TV Insider that Obama was a great improviser, even though he wasn’t part of the Groundlings.
He also said that “old lips” was a line from Obama and that Larry laughed so hard at it.
Trump has made several changes to the White House and its grounds since returning to office.
In 2025, the White House announced plans for a $200 million ballroom next to the East Wing.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be finished “long before” Trump’s term ends in January 2029, with Trump and other donors paying for it.
The project was later called “The President Donald J.
Trump Ballroom.” The estimated cost went up to around $300 million, and the number of guests it can hold increased to nearly 1,000.
Trump has also added two big flagpoles with the American flag and paved part of the Rose Garden.
He also planned a monument called the “Arc de Trump,” inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Trump has also placed plaques under the portraits of past presidents along the White House colonnade.
The plaques, first seen in December 2025, described Joe Biden as “sleepy,” Obama as “divisive,” and Ronald Reagan as someone who supported a young Trump.
Obama’s plaque called him “a community organizer, one-term Senator from Illinois and one of the most divisive political figures in American History.” It mentioned his signature domestic achievement as “the highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable Care Act,’” while criticizing “the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal” and “the one-sided Paris Climate Accords.”
Biden’s plaque said, “Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President in American history,” and falsely claimed he won “the most corrupt election ever.”
Biden is the only former president without a portrait on the wall.
Instead, he is represented by an autopen, a device used to copy signatures.
The plaque beneath Bill Clinton’s portrait said, “In 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, lost the Presidency to President Donald J.
Trump!”
The plaque beneath George W.
Bush’s portrait praised his creation of the Department of Homeland Security but criticized him for “starting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened.”
Karoline said the texts were “eloquently written descriptions of each president” and that “many were written directly by the President himself.”
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