Burke native’s Oval Office replica big hit at RNC

A Burke County native’s true-to-life replica of the Oval Office is turning into the smash hit of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wis.

Jimmy Warlick, who owns a successful political memorabilia business and is one of the preeminent collectors of historical presidential items in the country, set up his spot-on reproduction of the famous office – decked out exactly as it appeared during the Reagan era – at the convention.

The faux Oval Office has attracted attention from major TV networks and politicians like U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who did an interview while seated behind the desk.

Warlick said he’s been pleasantly surprised with the reaction his display has garnered.

“The Oval Office has been a big hit,” Warlick said. “Everybody loves it, and that’s what I came for. It’s almost exactly the same size, and this one is outfitted the way it was when Reagan was President.”

“CBS was in, Fox News’ Brett Baier did a segment from the Oval Office. It’s a great backdrop for doing interviews.”

Warlick owns five Oval Office replicas. He got the idea for constructing them from customers at his memorabilia store across the street from the White House. 

Visitors who took White House tours often complained they didn’t get to see the iconic office. Warlick began asking those folks if they would enjoy visiting a replica, and many of them answered in the affirmative.

Warlick had Paramount Studios in Hollywood build the first model for George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2001. It was displayed in the rotunda at Union Station in Washington, complete with a Bush lookalike who posed for pictures and signed autographs.

One of Warlick’s offices stays in Los Angeles, and he rents it out for use on movie sets. He keeps another in a hangar in Atlanta that also houses his Reagan and John F. Kennedy Air Force One planes.

The last time he set up a model at a national convention was for the 2016 Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. He last exhibited the Reagan version at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. 

Warlick will not set up an office at the Democratic Convention in Chicago Aug. 19-22 but plans to display one at the presidential inauguration in 2025.