U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with relatives of members of the U.S. military killed in Afghanistan during the U.S withdrawal in 2021, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump heaped praise on his Oval Office renovation during a ceremony on Monday to honor fallen U.S. soldiers.
Trump met with the families of the 13 soldiers who died after terrorists bombed Abbey Gate at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021 as the U.S. military was withdrawing from the country. The meeting marked the fourth anniversary of the attack, and Trump signed a proclamation honoring the "brave souls who shed their blood for our nation."
"As Commander in Chief, I will never allow our military service members to be so betrayed, our friends to be so abandoned, and our credibility to be so destroyed," the proclamation reads in part.
Trump also took time during the ceremony to tell the family members about his renovations and how they have been received by the public.
"This is the Oval Office, and I don't want to disrespect it, but it's very special," Trump said. "You see what's happened. Everyone loves it. It's all the real deal, 24-karat gold."
"People come from all over, and I do believe they're serious. They're not rolling their eyes," Trump added. "The roller of the eyes, but we don't have any of them."
Trump has added much gold ornamentation to the Oval Office during his second term. For example, he added golf leaflets across the presidential seal on the ceiling, along the cherubs and doorframes, and on other emblems around the room.
Watch some of the ceremony below or by clicking here.