Former President Barack Obama made a light-hearted comment about President Donald Trump’s changes to the White House in a behind-the-scenes clip shared by HBO on Monday, August 10.The clip was part of a show featuring Obama and comedian Larry David called “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.” In one scene, Obama walks into a recreated Oval Office from 2014, built for the show, and praises the production team for their attention to detail.
He said, “Nice job on the recreation.” He noticed a fruit bowl and added, “You even have the apples,” before calling the setup “fantastic.”
Obama then pointed out one thing missing from the room.
“Although, I do want to point out: There’s no gold sign on the outside that says ‘Oval Office,’” he said, making others laugh.
He then joked, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
Even though Obama didn’t mention Trump directly, the reference was clear.
He quickly said, “Thank you, everybody, this is pretty magnificent.”
Donald Trump had added gold lettering to the outside of the White House in December 2025, part of a bigger renovation that included 24-karat gold details on the Oval Office, statues, and portraits.
Before, Obama had criticized Trump’s renovations.
At a campaign event in Virginia in November 2025, he joked about Trump’s focus on things like paving the Rose Garden and gold-plating the Oval Office.
Trump responded by saying Washington, D.C., looked better than ever after the changes.
In the show, Obama plays a version of himself from 2014.
The episode takes a real moment from his presidency and turns it into a comedy.In one scene, Larry David spills a smoothie on Obama’s suit and suggests he wear a tan suit, referencing a real controversy during Obama’s time in the White House.
Another clip shows Obama joking about letting David drink from his smoothie glass, saying he doesn’t want the comedian’s “old lips” on it.
Jeff Schaffer, the show’s executive producer and director, said Obama is a great improviser and that the “old lips” joke was completely his.
Trump has made several changes to the White House, including a large, expensive ballroom next to the East Wing.
The cost has gone up to about $600 million, and it can hold nearly 1,000 guests.
He also put up new flagpoles, paved part of the Rose Garden, and planned a monument called the Arc de Trump, modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
In addition, Trump added plaques under the portraits of former presidents along the White House colonnade.
These plaques gave opinions about each president, calling Obama “divisive,” Biden “sleepy,” and Reagan a supporter of a young Trump.
Obama’s plaque said he was “a community organizer, one-term senator from Illinois and one of the most divisive political figures in American History.” It called his health care plan “unaffordable” and criticized his foreign policies.
The plaques attracted criticism.
Kamala Harris said the American people deserve better, and some officials posted altered images of Trump looking tired next to his own portrait.
Trump’s changes have been a point of controversy, with many expressing concern over the White House’s appearance and the way past presidents are portrayed.
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