Give us your feedback
Thank you for contacting The Christian Science Monitor.
Why is Christian Science in our name?
Why is Christian Science in our name?
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
Explore values journalism About us
The gilded age of Donald Trump
Linda Feldmann
Washington Bureau Chief
My introduction to the gilded style of the 47th president came in 2016, when I went to Mar-a-Lago to cover his victory celebration after the Florida presidential primary. The Donald J. Trump Grand Ballroom was awash in gold filigree. His guests bespoke similar opulence.
Today, the Oval Office is also done up in gold, and a giant ballroom off the East Wing of the White House is in the works. The architect’s renderings look just like other Trump ballrooms. But the controversy isn’t in the style. It’s in the scale. Alterations to the White House are nothing new, but having been in much of the building – including the private residence upstairs – I can say that a 90,000-square-foot addition is hard to imagine. Here’s my story.
