“Disappointed,” Clayton reiterated, “but I had to respect it.”

He had to respect it because, as a former Air Force pilot, Clayton still respects the chain of command, which leads straight to the commander in chief. Nonetheless, he didn’t agree with Trump’s assessment of his building.

“If it looked that bad, I would have stepped in and suggested that we paint it, and I haven’t,” Clayton said. “In my opinion — and that’s my opinion only — I find it very attractive. I’m not the type of guy who needs a sparkling new paint job on a building. To me, the patina of an old paint looks rather pretty. So I guess the president and I disagree on that point. But I respect his opinion. I respect it to the hilt.”