The gilded tide crept in slowly.

On Feb. 28, when President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, the glitter of gold was mostly limited to some bric-a-brac on the mantel behind them. By April 7, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited, the fireplace had a light incrustation of gleaming ornaments that seemed to grow sideways on its stone face. By the middle of summer, when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came to the White House, there was ornament everywhere, running horizontally and vertically on the walls, doors and just about any flat surface.

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