The Aesthetics of Democracy: Power and Ethics in the Trump Administration

Since regaining office, there has been a lot of focus on President Trump's aesthetic, or the ways that he uses media and cultural imagery to political ends. The Washington Post has even dedicated a running commentary about the visuals associated with what they have termed ‘Trump Trad’. As attention-grabbing as such visuals, including the displacement of the historic Swedish Ivy from the Oval Office, may be, what are we really talking about when we talk about Trump's aesthetic? Furthermore, is there an appropriate aesthetic for the President of the United States (POTUS)?

Aesthetics and Politics

An aesthetic is not merely visual – it includes sensory experiences such as sound, emotional responses, and even the ways people engage with online culture. To perceive of an object or experience aesthetically is to appreciate and take notice of how the composition of its various properties evoke an association or feeling. For example, the harmonious interplay of contrasting colours that emerge in a sunset might be perceived of as beautiful and therefore pleasurable to the person witnessing it.

Traditionally the concept of the aesthetic has been used in philosophy to describe the principles associated with judgements of taste or the appreciation of beauty in works of art. More recently, this understanding has shifted to include how the look, feel, and overall presentation of things – not just art – influence how people understand and value them. For example, the field of everyday aesthetics includes daily activities such as eating, bathing, or completing chores as well as the objects generally associated with such acts.

This is relevant in the political arena because the way politics looks, sounds, and feels is not separate from its content but is a fundamental part of what it is and how it operates.

According to the cultural critic Crispin Sartwell, ‘all politics is aesthetic,’ meaning that political ideologies, systems, and even constitutions aren't just about ideas or power structures; they inherently function like works of art or designed environments. For example, national flags are ideologically potent and evoke ideas of identity and unity. Such objects have a form, a style, and engage our senses and emotions through various mediums like symbols, rhetoric, architecture, and even rituals.

Democratic Values

The United States of America is still a democratic country. The President of the United States is therefore expected to embody and uphold core democratic values like their commitment to the rule of law; upholding the constitution and legal frameworks that apply equally to all citizens; championing equality; and by fostering an inclusive environment where diverse voices are heard and respected.

Ultimately, the POTUS’ role in representing democratic values involves not only policy decisions but also their symbolic actions and the moral authority they project, reinforcing the principles that underpin the nation's democratic identity.

That is why, when on 20 February the official X account for the White House posted a fake TIME magazine cover of Trump wearing a gold crown captioned with the words ‘Long live the King,’ alarm bells started ringing. The text on the post refers to Trump’s order to dispose of congestion pricing in New York and could be interpreted as a reference to Trump’s self-proclaimed title as the ‘King of New York real estate’. Given the trolling nature of the current administration, this post could be dismissed as playful, thereby delegitimising any claims that it is a serious assertion of Trump’s God-given right to rule.

All that glitters is gold

However, other examples of Trump’s aesthetic are less blatantly undemocratic. Since returning to the presidency, the decoration of the oval office has suffered a profound aesthetic renovation. True to his long-standing preference, gold accents dominate the space: newly acquired gold vermeil figurines gleam on the mantle, medallions adorn the fireplace, golden eagles perch on side tables, and gilded Rococo mirrors hang on the doors. Even small details haven't escaped this treatment, with tiny gold cherubs from Mar-a-Lago nestled above doorways and the remote control for the distant television encased in gilt.

“Every president has a right to decorate the Oval Office,” a former White House official who has worked for Democratic and Republican administrations, told CNN. “But his décor is so weirdly un-presidential, it’s more king-like.” (CNN)

Historically, the gold objects that now litter the Oval Office have been associated with wealth, power, and often inherited status in monarchies. These stand in stark contrast to the democratic values of equality, representation and the rejection of hereditary privilege and highlight a fundamental misalignment between their inherent connotations and the values of a democratic society.

Taste or Ethics

Individual aesthetic preferences are subjective and diverse, meaning what one person finds beautiful, another may find unappealing. But when it comes to the aesthetics of a representative of the people, it’s no longer a matter of individual taste.

To explain why, it’s useful to turn to the field of environmental aesthetics. Environmental aesthetics, which focuses on a sensory and emotional engagement with the natural world, is ethically intertwined with conservation because the appreciation of nature's beauty and integrity often motivates a moral obligation to protect and preserve it.

Just as the aesthetic judgment of ‘beautiful’ applied to a polluted swamp clashes with its lack of ecological integrity, so too do gold objects in an elected leader's office contradict the democratic values inherent in that political system. The swamp, despite any superficial visual appeal, fails to meet the fundamental ecological values of health and sustainability, rendering the term ‘beautiful’ inappropriate in that context.

Aesthetics are more than symbolic because they represent the way things are and they convey a message of how they should be. Calling something beautiful not only makes a judgment on its pleasing nature but also calls forth an expectation for others to agree. Calling a swamp beautiful despite it being polluted is a negation of the damages caused by human-generated environmental degradation or climate change.

Historical knowledge

The danger of Trump’s undemocratic aesthetic is that it conveys an expectation that the POTUS should be viewed as an absolute power. In presenting himself as a King, Trump is suggesting that the world should agree with him and ultimately treat him as one.

Although aesthetics are subjective and culturally relative – for example, trends in cosmetic surgery and what is considered beautiful change over time – the separation of political and aesthetic realms is artificial. Specific aesthetic choices are inseparable from their political context at a given moment.

For example, in a recent interview with the Atlantic, Trump conceded the point that the facts around the 2020 election are not what he terms reality.

Trump: Well, I think a vast majority of the Republican Party thinks I won in 2020…

Parker: The election aside, how are you able to do that? It seems like you sometimes are able to create reality, to make things true, simply by saying them.

Trump: Well, I’d like to say that that is reality. You know, I’m not creating it. But maybe you could use another subject, because probably I do create some things, but I didn’t create that; I think that is reality.

Similarly, by glorifying images and objects that are usually associated with authoritarian and monarchic values, the POTUS can shape the perception that they are in fact democratic. The Office of the President has the power to reshape ethical and aesthetic norms.

A double edged sword

Therefore, while Trump’s aesthetic might seem to reside in the realm of sensory experience and subjective taste, its power to shape values, normalise harm, incite action, and have material consequences firmly roots it in the ethical domain. An unethical aesthetic is not a passive preference but an active force that contributes to and perpetuates ambiguous ethical outcomes.

By normalising harmful ideologies, glorifying inequality, and undermining empathy, unethical aesthetics can erode the very foundations of democratic values like equality, respect for individual rights, and the peaceful resolution of conflict, ultimately contributing to their decline.

On the other hand, the stark portrayal of unethical realities through powerful and unsettling aesthetics can shock audiences into recognising injustice and galvanise support for a return to the democratic values that underpin a nation like the United States.

An aesthetic isn't just a superficial way to present political ideas; it's integral to how these ideas are understood, felt, and ultimately, how it moves people to action or inaction.

Nanda Jarosz is a writer and researcher and was awarded a PhD from the University of Sydney in 2021. She works on the philosophy of nature and on the aesthetics of the environment. Her writing features in The Oxford Handbook of the Sublime, Environmental Values, and The Conversation.

Disclaimer: Any views or opinions expressed on The Public Ethics Blog are solely those of the post author(s) and not The Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace, Stockholm University, the Wallenberg Foundation, or the staff of those organisations.