He called the columns Corinthian.

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press reported Friday morning that President Trump’s first public appearance after the midterms was not a reckoning. It was the projects. On Monday he was at the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. On Wednesday he walked the unfinished White House ballroom and talked about columns, steel beams, and Corinthian designs. AP said the work to change the face of the District — the Kennedy Center, a public golf course, an arch it described as 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal — now meets a Democratic Congress, and more roadblocks than the first two years of the term.

Reuters, on Wednesday, has the words from that ballroom. “They’re being carved out of beautiful limestone,” he said of the pillars. “And they’ll be Corinthian, Corinthian design, which is considered the creme de la creme.” He said of the work, “I like it,” and “For me, it’s relaxing.” Reuters said he paused to watch the beam go up while reporters asked about impeachment by a Congress led by Democrats. The photograph is that Wednesday. Evan Vucci, Reuters. The mouth is open. The microphone is in his hand. It is not Friday.

And they’ll be Corinthian, Corinthian design, which is considered the creme de la creme.

In a separate interview, the AP reported Friday, Chuck Schumer — described as likely to return as majority leader — said Democrats will prevent Trump from installing a “right-winger” on the Supreme Court and are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” in the rest of the judiciary or in the Cabinet. AP said Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats next year, and as many as 56 depending on Mississippi and Alaska. This desk does not print a House seat total. Schumer is not in the photograph.