Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has compared President Donald Trump’s White House renovations to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s palaces, remembering her own travels to Baghdad after his ouster.

Clinton, speaking on journalist Kara Swisher’s podcast, compared Trump’s White House decor to meetings she attended in Saddam Hussein’s former palaces while serving as a US senator.

“They were quite reminiscent of what we are seeing in our own White House,” she said.

Her remarks come amid wider criticism of Trump’s renovations and architectural decisions, such as heavy gold décor within the Oval Office, plans for a new White House ballroom, and a projected triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.

Clinton called the improvements “tacky” and suggested that the president was focusing too much on cosmetic initiatives when the US confronts substantial foreign policy, economic, and technological issues.

She also criticized the process around Trump’s planned ballroom, stating that she was not opposed to the White House having such a facility but was concerned about the architecture and how the project had been handled.

Given Clinton’s past with Iraq, the connection to Saddam was especially relevant.

She was a member of the United States Senate during the 2003 war that deposed Saddam Hussein and subsequently became Secretary of State under President Barack Obama.

During his reign, Saddam was noted for building multiple extravagant presidential palaces around Iraq, many with elaborate interiors and significant use of marble, chandeliers, and gold-colored décor, despite the country’s international sanctions and economic difficulty.

Trump has defended his White House restoration plans, which are part of a larger push to renovate and enhance Washington’s important federal buildings and sites.

Clinton’s parallel brings Iraq and one of Saddam’s most recognizable emblems into the increasingly heated political argument over Trump’s White House moves.