Donald Trump is obsessing over remodeling the White House like no other president, Axios' Marc Caputo writes.

• He has gilded the Oval Office, replaced trees, paved the Rose Garden lawn, hung art and mirrors all over, erected flagpoles and begun work on a $250 million ballroom.
• He's not done: Trump has had models and dioramas built for other projects he's considering, and even directed how and where new marble-tiled floors are laid.

Why it matters: Long after Trump has exited the presidency, his imprint will be on the executive mansion in an unprecedented scope and scale — even if a successor removes the Oval Office gold leaf.

• He's spent as many as 20 hours on some projects, aides say, engaging in impromptu design sessions between negotiating peace deals and talks over the government shutdown.
• After strong-arming Benjamin Netanyahu into a Gaza ceasefire two weeks ago, Trump led the Israeli prime minister on a 40-minute tour of White House renovations. Last week, Finnish President Alexander Stubb got the same treatment.

🚰 Zoom in: Last month, a delegation of Florida House lawmakers spent even more time with the president — well over an hour — as he showed them the new tile floors in the old washroom of the Lincoln Bedroom (statuary marble Trump had selected).

• Trump led the guests outside to the new Rose Garden patio, and had them vote on new outdoor tiles. "He asked me to pick a tile," said one Floridian, declining to say how he voted.
• "He asks everyone for a vote on everything," an adviser said. "We vote. Anybody that walks through gets a vote. He cares so deeply about perfection that this is what he does."

🌹 As the new Rose Garden patio was coming together, Trump interrupted an Oval Office meeting with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to show off the new outdoor Bang & Olufsen sound system being installed (same brand as at Mar-a-Lago).

• "We have a great speaker system," Trump, microphone in hand, boasted on Sept. 5 when he inaugurated the new Rose Garden Club. The guest list consisted of trusted Cabinet secretaries and advisers, and lawmakers who are reliable votes for his plans.
• "You are the ones that I never had to call at 4 o'clock in the morning," he said.

The ongoing makeover is too garish for catty commenters on Reddit, and way too golden for The New York Times (which called it a "Gilded Rococo Nightmare"). Trump's team, officially, doesn't care.

• "He's stamping his legacy on the presidency and on the White House forever," one senior adviser said. "No one can get rid of the ballroom. It will be difficult to take all of the gold away. Who would even do that?"

A White House aide, describing the "perfectionist" tendencies of the Luxury Resort Owner-in-Chief, said: "President [George W.] Bush liked to paint [in retirement]. Trump likes to build and design. This is his artistic outlet."

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The president's wandering architectural eye is now gazing southwest from the White House to land around the Memorial Bridge. He wants to erect a giant arch as a grand entrance into Washington from Arlington National Cemetery, Marc Caputo continues.

• "Let's build something like the Arc de Triomphe in that space, it would be beautiful when you drive or fly in," Trump told a White House visitor a few weeks ago.
• Trump has three different-sized models of the "Arc de Trump" that he's been positioning on a map of D.C. to determine the right scale.
• On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social a rendition of the arch by Washington architect Nicolas Leo Charbonneau.

🏛️ The models for the arch were 3D printed on Trump's orders by the architects involved in designing the new ballroom. He says it'd be privately funded, along with some of the other projects. The total cost is unclear.

• Trump also 3D printed models of the ballroom on a diorama of the White House grounds that he fidgets with in the dining room during meals.
• "The tenser things are, the more he moves the [diorama] pieces around in his spare time, or he takes a break and thinks about the marble he wants or the columns, whether they're going to be Corinthian or not," a White House official said.

Asked if Trump liked Doric or Ionic columns, the official said, "He's more of a Corinthian man."

• Another aide said Trump "worked every single detail you can think of ... from where the bathrooms and plumbing are, to how many people will be able to sit in the ballroom, what material to use for the floor and the walls. How big the windows will be. He is literally the project manager."

Elsewhere in and around the White House, Trump's changes have included:

• 🌳 Trees on the South Lawn: He hated the look of some of the newer oaks, birch and maples and began replacing them with trees that have broader canopies and that, to him, are more aesthetically pleasing.
• 🌴 The Palm Room: Late last month, Trump redid the hall connecting the front of the White House to the Rose Garden and West Colonnade by ripping up the tiles and replacing them with statuary marble. He insisted on "bookmatching" the new tiles so that the marble veins line up and make the floor appear as if it's one giant slab. He replaced the overhead lights with two Schonbeck chandeliers.

Along the Colonnade, portraits of the 44 other presidents, selected by Trump, are now hung in golden frames (of course) made of a composite to withstand the exterior conditions, as are the acrylic portraits.

• Trump trolled his predecessor, Joe Biden, by hanging a mock portrait of an autopen instead of Biden himself.

Aides say Trump will probably replace it with an actual likeness of Biden eventually, but make no predictions.

• "This is all the president's baby," one of the advisers said. "It's the Trump White House."

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Over the years, acronyms have come and gone to describe America's tech darlings — the companies college grads dream of joining and Wall Street investors love to watch, Axios' Erica Pandey writes.

• First, it was FAANG: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google.
• Then came the Magnificent Seven or "Mag 7" (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla).
• Now, in the age of generative AI, a new term is taking hold: MANGO — Microsoft, Anthropic, Nvidia, Google DeepMind and OpenAI.

Why it matters: It's a reflection of the moment. The companies commanding attention today are the ones leading the AI revolution.

🔬 Zoom in: Different iterations of MANGO are coming up in blog posts and on social media. Some people think of Meta and Apple instead of Microsoft and Anthropic.

• But each company has earned its place in the new acronym for AI prowess — whether that's Microsoft's ability to reach millions of Americans at work with Copilot or Nvidia's chip dominance.

Between the lines: MANGO is also the new goal for computer science graduates across the country and around the world.

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Walmart's stock jumped nearly 5% yesterday after the company announced it was teaming up with OpenAI to let shoppers purchase its products through ChatGPT.

• Why it matters: The partnership between OpenAI and the world's largest retailer signals the arrival of "agentic commerce" — where AI doesn't just answer questions but anticipates what shoppers need next, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

👓 Between the lines: Walmart has been digging deeper into artificial intelligence to transform the business. The company is using generative AI to speed up how fast it rolls out on-trend fashion items.

• It previously added a generative AI-powered search, an AI-powered product replenishment service and other tools.
• Walmart-owned Sam's Club is employing AI to resolve long lines for receipt verification at club exits.

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The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes.

• Why it matters: DHS disputes that its ads are political. But it has spent at least $51 million this year on ads thanking President Trump for securing the borders, according to AdImpact.

The next closest ad campaign is the $41 million effort to support California's redistricting measure, according to AdImpact.

• The DHS ads promote Trump's mass deportation agenda in a series of direct-to-camera videos starring the face of the policy, Secretary Kristi Noem.
• They're part of a $200 million fast-tracked contract pushing self-deportation.

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CINCINNATI — GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp announced at an Axios event yesterday that the GE Aerospace Foundation is launching a $30 million, five-year workforce skills training program aimed at helping revitalize U.S. manufacturing.

• Why it matters: It's part of the global aerospace giant's effort to close the gap between the number of manufacturing jobs that employers are creating in America, and the workers who have the necessary skills.

Culp — surrounded by massive GE Aerospace engines at the company's Customer Technical Education Center, near the corporate HQ in Cincinnati — told me the announcement is a "glove fit" with President Trump's effort to encourage investment in American manufacturing jobs.

• "We've heard the president, with his executive order in the spring, talk about the importance of apprenticeships and skills training," said Culp, praising Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for partnering on internship and co-op programs.

Go deeper: Read the announcement ... Watch the Axios event ... Share this story.

Stellantis, the automaker formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, announced plans to invest $13 billion over four years in the U.S. and add more than 5,000 American jobs, Axios' Nathan Bomey writes.

• Why it matters: Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest automaker, is moving to mitigate the impact of President Trump's tariffs on its business by locating more production locally.

Stellantis said the investment amounts to "the largest in the Company's 100-year U.S. history," increasing its U.S. vehicle production by 50%.

• The plan includes reopening its assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., which it had agreed to do as part of its UAW contract in 2023. The plant will make the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass.

Read the announcement.

President Trump yesterday posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the nation's highest civilian honor — the Presidential Medal of Freedom — on what would've been his 32nd birthday.

• "President Trump, I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie, and it's so difficult," said Erika Kirk, 36, now chair and CEO of Turning Point USA, founded by her late husband.
• "But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have."

After the ceremony, the State Department announced it had revoked the visas of six non-U.S. citizens who "celebrated the heinous assassination" of Kirk.

• More photos from yesterday's Rose Garden ceremony ... Trump's proclamation of yesterday as a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are shaking up the soda biz to attract younger, more selective drinkers, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes.

• Why it matters: Americans' affinity for soda has declined in recent years, and soda giants are trying to lure them back with smaller servings, and TikTok-able flavors.

Brands are catering to shoppers who see soda as a treat, not a staple:

• Coca-Cola will debut 7.5-ounce mini can singles in convenience stores nationwide Jan. 1 — for $1.29. It's the first time the small cans are being sold solo.
• PepsiCo is rolling out Dirty Mountain Dew Cream Soda Dew, its first "creamy" flavor and a play on the viral "dirty soda" trend.
• Coca-Cola Cherry Float launches in February.

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