Trump: The Secret Service suggested demolishing the Oval Office to me — he wants it declared a federal monument

President Donald Trump has revealed that the U.S. Secret Service suggested to him demolishing the Oval Office and replacing it with a new one — a proposal he flatly rejected. The new interview, published on Wednesday, October 1, 2026, gives Trump his 56th Time magazine cover, a record surpassing that of former President Richard Nixon.

“Tear down the Oval Office, get a new one,” the Secret Service agents told him, according to his account, during a discussion about White House security. “My a–, you can’t build a new one. This is a special place,” Trump replied, according to his account, as Trump told Time magazine.

In the interview, conducted in the Oval Office itself, Trump also said he had asked his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to look into the possibility of declaring the Oval Office a federal monument — a status that would prevent future presidents from demolishing or altering his renovations.

The revelation comes amid fierce controversy over Trump’s redesign of the Oval Office — with gold ornaments, mirrors and a sign reading “The Oval Office” — over the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new reception hall, and over his threats to tear down the Kennedy Center, which he has called an ugly building.