Gold Leaf Governance (🇺🇸 US-UK🇬🇧 Edition)

Donald Trump’s ongoing White House renovations are often discussed as matters of taste. They are something more revealing than that.Gold Leaf Governance examines the difference between stewardship and ownership, and why that distinction matters in a republic. The White House was designed to remind its occupants that they are temporary custodians of institutions larger than themselves. Trump appears to view it differently.From gold leaf and chandeliers to ballroom fantasies and personal branding, the issue is not decoration. It is the belief that authority should look owned.Most presidents leave behind papers. Trump prefers chandeliers.When civic institutions begin to resemble private property, power starts to feel less provisional, accountability weakens, and citizens begin to look less like participants and more like guests.The danger is not that the White House might become tacky.The danger is that governance begins to look owned.— DunneaginFollow the full essays and podcast at paragraph.com/@civicsunhinged Watch short-form video commentary on YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@civics_unhinged/shorts ☕️ Reader editions and collected volumes are available at: https://f-p-dunneagin-shop.fourthwall.com 👉 Thank you for listening and for your support. Get full access to ~ Civics Unhinged: Dispatches From Trumpistan ~ at dunneagin.substack.com/subscribe