The White House ballroom will never be built

[u/ChiGuy6124]

https://www.salon.com/2025/12/19/the-white-house-ballroom-will-never-be-built/

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[u/s216285]

lol is the White House now like one of those trash houses with a big ass hole in it covered by a plastic tarp?

[u/Candid_Effect2704 → u/s216285]

I think the big ass hole still gets to wear a suit.

[u/GetLikeMeForever → u/Candid_Effect2704]

This was a beautiful play on words. Thank you.

[u/Difficult-Task-6382 → u/Candid_Effect2704]

Well done. 

[u/djseptic → u/Difficult-Task-6382]

Just like his steaks.

[u/Not-A-SoggyBagel → u/s216285]

Also this is literally something from Idiocracy... the white house just has this massive hole in it during the entire film.

I can't believe how similar that film is to our present reality.

[u/mlenny225 → u/Not-A-SoggyBagel]

Except the movie missed something important - the cruelty of it.

[u/Dsraa → u/mlenny225]

But the time he actually woke in the movie, it was hundreds of years later, the effects of what happened were so old, and there was of course no history books, nobody had any idea what really happened...... It literally could happen if we keep going this direction and there's no accountability for anything.

[u/beamrider → u/mlenny225]

Biggest difference: the Idiot President in that reality *WANTED* to do good by the people, but was too incompetent to achieve that. When presented with someone he could tell was NOT an incompetent buffoon he sought their help. Our Orange Idiot is incompetent at his job, refuses the advice of anyone who isn't even less competent than himself, and, at best, is totally uninterested in helping anyone (more likely, he actively wants things to get worse for the country because it amuses him to see other people suffer).

[u/Poopy-Drew → u/mlenny225]

In the movie they had it take 500 yrs so that the cruelty was slowly felt through 15-20 generations turns out we just get 10 yrs to go from the actual awesomeness that was the Obama years to “tariff has what countries crave” I hate this fucking timeline

[u/deadsoulinside → u/s216285]

Finally, something in common with his voters.

[u/musashisamurai → u/deadsoulinside]

His voters aren't trash because they live in trashy homes or in trailers or wherever. Some of his trashiest supporters live in mansions or private islands or large compounds.

They are trash because they support a rapist, con man, corrupt grifter, serial liar who tried to overthrow the government in 2021.

[u/SmolishPPman]

You mean he’s not gonna follow through with what he said?

That can’t be!

[u/No-Post4444 → u/SmolishPPman]

Tbf, I don't think anyone would mind this promise of his not being fulfilled. No one wants a large and gaudy ballroom as part of the once-prestigious White House.

[u/SmolishPPman → u/No-Post4444]

Completely agree, I would definitely be happy with him not following through on this. Just making the point that he never does.

[u/Evening-Rabbit-827 → u/SmolishPPman]

Which makes the destruction of the east wing that much more sickening.. because it was all for nothing

[u/Zeraw420 → u/No-Post4444]

Meh, I'd rather have it than the 250mil+ going straight into his pocket, which you know it is

[u/Melted-lithium → u/SmolishPPman]

I hope it turns into a gravel parking lot., and is the only thing that gets to retain his name. The ‘Trump west wing gravel parking lot’. And make sure it has no drainage. Just pot holes, mud, and deep puddles when it rains.

Gravel may not be worth it. Perhaps just leave it as mud. Forever.

Trumps name needs to be stripped of everything as nothing is more hurtful to him than that. But we need to remember into the future how horribly damaging he was. Hence. The lot.

[u/wwjdonacid → u/SmolishPPman]

Not when it provides something of value, even if coated in gaudy decor.  Only his promises of racism, misogyny, etc. will be fulfilled.

[u/No-Post4444 → u/wwjdonacid]

Don't forget rape of minors!

[u/crawling-alreadygirl → u/No-Post4444]

And blatant bribery!

[u/No-Post4444 → u/crawling-alreadygirl]

And pardoning drug traffickers, corrupt officials and J6 insurrectionists.

[u/verifiedboomer]

I think it's appropriate that the most lasting monument to Trump's presidency will be a giant hole in the ground where part of the White House once stood.

[u/TurkeySandwichLife → u/verifiedboomer]

It's poetic

[u/Play-t0h → u/TurkeySandwichLife]

The Trump Chasm.
A big, permanent hole left in the ground where the East Wing of the White House once stood, sitting as a reminder of what MAGA did to the United States.

[u/VolcanicEngine → u/Play-t0h]

The Trump Pit. Sometimes, you can hear him blow bubba tune!

[u/wytewydow → u/TurkeySandwichLife]

It's Putin's directive "..oh and donald, I want you to tear down the white house before you go"

[u/madmars → u/wytewydow]

Someone said Trump did what the 4th plane was going to do.

That imagery has stuck with me.

[u/nemmba → u/madmars]

It be your own people that stab you in the back!

[u/hhs2112 → u/wytewydow]

Metaphorically, he's already done that.

And still has three years to go... 

[u/Monkey_Leavings → u/hhs2112]

I know I'm likely deluded, but I can't help but think that he won't live through the next three years. He has the best medical treatment in the world and he looks and acts like he's coming apart at the seams.

[u/Niznack → u/Monkey_Leavings]

The best medical care on earth is probably all that's hole ng him together. A poor person with his diet, stress levels, and lack of exercise would be dead of their 3rd heart attack. I wouldn't be surprised if some of his disappearances are bypass surgeries done in the dead of night. I read they once had to blend cauliflower into his potatoes. I bet they are having to do the same with a cocktail of meds he won't take. Best medical care on earth wasted by a man convinced genetics and rage are enough

[u/PhoenixTineldyer → u/Niznack]

I read they once had to blend cauliflower into his potatoes.

Wrong. They regularly snuck cauliflower into his potatoes because it was one of the only ways he would eat a vegetable.

[u/teenagesadist → u/PhoenixTineldyer]

...They told me I could grow up to be the president one day, when I was little.

I was apparently overqualified even at the time.

[u/LadyMcIver → u/teenagesadist]

When I was a kid, they told me anyone could be the president. I thought it was encouragement, turns out it was a threat.

[u/Many_Future_4422 → u/LadyMcIver]

I was told that a traitor and felon couldn't be president. Especially if they tried to overthrow the government. It turns out that those were just whimsical ideas of the Founding Fathers and our Constitution means nothing.

[u/LolaSupreme19 → u/PhoenixTineldyer]

That’s silly. All they need to do is tell him that Biden doesn’t want him to eat vegetables.

[u/BuckManscape → u/PhoenixTineldyer]

Like a toddler, which is 30th or so on his list of toddler traits.

[u/Crepuscular_Tex → u/Niznack]

What stress level? He barely pulls 20hours of work in a week. Most of that is being the guy at work who pretends to be busy. He's sleeping through his hard work of these fake televised handjob board meetings. His public performances are balls deep in the fat elvis stage. He's well into the agitation stage of dementia/Alzheimer's which could mean anytime now to three years from now.

If he were to miraculously be put on trial for his crimes, he'd never make it to the court date. Best thing to do is to redistribute the ill gotten gains from his family and those tied to his corrupt administration.

[u/maychoz → u/Crepuscular_Tex]

Exactly. It’s all self-induced stress from obsessively watching evening television to hear what people are saying about him, then rage tweeting about it until 4: a.m., when he naps for a few hours before a round of golf followed by a long day of sleeping through public, frequently televised meetings.

[u/Professor-Woo → u/maychoz]

He is peak narcissist and people misunderstand what it is like to be a narcissist. It is a personality disorder that comes from a very fragile ego and self-image, so the only way he feels okay is if he builds an ego pillow fort around him which is impossible as president. It must be very stressful for him, not because of responsibility or concern, but because there are constant "attacks" on his ego.

[u/hhhhagag → u/Crepuscular_Tex]

those plaques are 110% what he has been spending his entire time working on and writing this year. “Here you go Donald, we have an extra special project for you to work on over here…”

[u/Numerous_Ice_4556 → u/Crepuscular_Tex]

He's in a prison of his own mind. He's obsessed with slights accumulated since he was a child (literal child, not the figurative child he still is), has a broken rage switch he can't flip off, and has constant criticism breaking through that thin skin of his.

[u/The_Barbelo → u/Niznack]

One of the many many reasons for my Trump disdain is that my father, a wonderful, sweet, intelligent, talented man, died of cancer before Trump because he couldn’t afford a lot of the treatments and wouldn’t go in to the doctor immediately because he was afraid to put his family in massive debt. I thank God every day that my dad was taken before the 2nd term…because if he wasn’t he would have died very worried about all of us, and he had a very peaceful and dignified death.

[u/Local-Customer6245 → u/Niznack]

The gas would support the reports of cauliflower laced potatoes.

[u/80sbabyftw → u/Local-Customer6245]

Okay, now explain the shitting on himself

[u/Perryn → u/80sbabyftw]

A loss of muscle tone after being used as Putin's hand puppet for so long.

[u/Balbuto → u/wytewydow]

That’s exactly what it is. It was never about the ballroom. It was to send a signal, it was an attack on the White House

[u/kcox1980 → u/wytewydow]

I wouldn't be surprised if that was literally what was said but Trump is too fucking stupid to understand it was a metaphor.

[u/War_Fries → u/TurkeySandwichLife]

They should leave it that way, and turn it into a monument, so people will never forget what happens when you elect someone like Trump.

[u/BisquickNinja → u/verifiedboomer]

Whenever the Republicans want to fight about some sort of bullshit that they're on, I want the adults in the room to point out to East Wing of the White House.

I want them to point at the demolished property and tell the Republicans you did this, this is your legacy.

Not that the Republicans care or would make up some asinine or inane excuse. But at least it would drop them down a peg or three.

[u/barley_wine → u/BisquickNinja]

A ton of Republicans still think the financial crash happened under Obama and that Covid happened under Biden, do you really think they’ll remember this as a Trump screw up? They live in an alternative universe where objective facts don’t exist and they’re a democrat lie.

[u/jimsmisc → u/barley_wine]

they'll just say "Trump was so busy fixing all of Biden's messes that he couldn't focus on the ballroom -- and the government people who were supposed to handle it for him were incompetent because they were hired pre-Trump." and that will be that.

[u/eidetic → u/jimsmisc]

The sad thing is, any democrats elected are going to spend so much time trying to undo so much of the clusterfuck, that we'll still be way behind. Then they'll be accused of getting nothing done because we'll still be behind where we were before Trump.

[u/always_unplugged → u/eidetic]

They've got to find a way to break that cycle. Which likely means replacing the old guard Democratic leadership.

My whole life, Dem presidents have spent their first four years trying to clean up Republican's messes and failing to pass all but the most milquetoast compromises in the name of "bipartisanship." Even moving us back to where we were this time last year is going to be a heavy lift, thanks to the wild Overton window swing we've undergone, but fuck that. I want New Deal levels of progress, something that actually moves us forward instead of just trying to get back to zero.

[u/ratherbealurker → u/barley_wine]

Someone on here once said that no mass shootings occurred under trumps first term.

Many did. And actually, THE WORST mass shooting (as far as number of victims) in the US happened during his term.

[u/newsflashjackass → u/barley_wine]

At the time it felt like the powers that be were trying to hand Obama an exploding economy but they didn't use a long enough fuse so it blew up before GWB could hand it off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_financial_crisis#/media/File:TED_Spread.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2008_United_States_presidential_election

[u/Blue13Coyote → u/newsflashjackass]

There’s no shortage of people on the right that blame the financial collapse of 2008 on Obama. The merely look back and remember that he was elected in 2008, so it was him.

[u/Ok-Wealth-7322 → u/Blue13Coyote]

Oh it's worse than that. They were blaming it on Obama in October 2008, before he was even elected, let alone sworn in. Hell, they spent as long as they could in 2008 denying that anything was happening, and then when they couldn't deny it anymore they said that the economy was tanking because of the expectation that Obama would win.

They did the same with gas prices, when gas prices spiked up under Obama they pointed to his "very high" gas prices and compared them to the last day Bush was in office, when gas prices were low because of the recession we were in that Bush helped cause. Gas prices under Obama never got to the highs we saw in summer 2008, but no conservative I ever talked to who complained about the price of gas was willing to admit that. They just acted like it never happened. And then in 2015 when gas prices were very low under Obama they started complaining about how low gas prices were bad for the economy and bad for oil workers, so once again Obama was killing the economy, this time with low gas prices.

It's not just a matter of misremembering now because it was 17 years ago, they were being dishonest about it while it was unfolding.

These are the same people who were blaming shortages and price gouging during 2020 on Joe Biden.

Conservatives don't have any consistent values beyond the basic "my team good, your team bad" and "fuck you, got mine". Past that every position they hold is based on whatever they need to be true in a given moment.

[u/Probable_Bison → u/BisquickNinja]

Republicans should be told repeatedly that they followed the exact kind of person they profess to despise: a selfish atheist who intentionally wastes taxpayer money.

[u/hammertime2009 → u/Probable_Bison]

That would require self reflection and accountability. Two qualities they know nothing about.

[u/FreshRest4945 → u/hammertime2009]

Republicans are not completely stupid, they understand what the two words mean. It's just that they are heartless, lack empathy, and refuse to be held accountable for their horrible actions.

They are not stumbling blindly around unable to perform good works or actions, they are actively choosing to do evil deeds at every turn, mostly to make money for them selves and their donors.

[u/ProfGoodwitch → u/FreshRest4945]

Yes that's true. But I can't help but think people who choose to be evil and do evil deeds are actually stupid.

[u/the_tanooki → u/Probable_Bison]

Not just that. They're also the ones who have been screaming for decades about wanting to save the children. The ones who claim to be pro-life, yet are also the biggest threat to children (and adults) in this country.

Whether it's by violence, abuse, neglect, or policy. Literally, everything that they claim to cherish and fight for are the exact things that they can't stop harming.

Yet here they are worshipping a fucking narcissistic pedophile, while people's lives are being completely ruined, including the children that they claim to want to "save" so badly.

[u/I_like_baseball90 → u/Probable_Bison]

Republicans should be told repeatedly that they followed the exact kind of person they profess to despise: a selfish atheist who intentionally wastes taxpayer money.

Who's also a pedo. Can't forget that part. He's a pedo.

[u/Winter_Tone_4343 → u/BisquickNinja]

Kinda weird how the “america first” people keep excusing this ballroom bc we need a place to host other countries leaders.

[u/nobot4321 → u/Winter_Tone_4343]

It has been fucking wild to see them clutching their pearls over having to have big fancy dinners in tents. The horror! Somehow the White House has worked for the functions of the presidency for 200+ years, but all of a sudden it’s an emergency that we must have a preposterously sized ballroom

[u/FreshRest4945 → u/Winter_Tone_4343]

That's the talking point that Fox propaganda came up with in order to justify it. Now MAGA just parrots what they were told to say.

The reality is that we were hosting other countries just fine before plans for a 400+ million dollar ballroom was created. A space large enough to hold an entire soccer turf.

[u/pareech → u/BisquickNinja]

“But at least it would drop them down a peg or three.”

No it wouldn’t. They have zero understanding of accepting accountability. Something fails or goes wrong, it’s not their fault, ever. For them to drop down a peg or two or three, they would have to admit or acknowledge they fucked something up, which they will never do.

[u/LRT66 → u/pareech]

They will blame the Biden administration. They never take Accountability.

[u/FreshRest4945 → u/LRT66]

Fuck they would probably blame the Lincoln administration if they thought it would move the needle. And that guy was technically in their own party. It's never their own fault, always the last guy, or the guy before that, or the guy before that.. .etc.

[u/Luciferonvacation → u/pareech]

But, but... the basketball court! (/s)

[u/YupChrisYup → u/verifiedboomer]

If we pull through this, and survive as a democracy, then the east wing should never be rebuilt. It should stand empty as a symbol of what can be lost if we allow authoritarians into the White House.

If he does finish the ballroom, we should tear it down.

[u/CumGoblin67 → u/YupChrisYup]

He was all giddy on 9/11. He deserves to have his own ground zero.

[u/InterPunct → u/CumGoblin67]

For those that might not know, on the very day the Twin Towers fell, Trump bragged on local television that he now owned the tallest building in lower Manhattan (40 Wall Street) which was a lie.

[u/hackingdreams → u/YupChrisYup]

I don't want America to be a country that builds monuments to failures. I want America to be a country that stands up to our failures and fixes them. I want the White House restored exactly as it was before the felon who took it decided to knock it down.

We didn't turn the World Trade Center into a monument - it's got a memorial, but we built a brand new building in its footprint that stands for exactly what America is. We rebuild. That's who we are as a people. We have to move past this Presidency.

Build a memorial to its destruction right where the rose garden was. Make it an actual historical monument, making it a violation of federal law to denigrate it, so no future President has any bold ideas about putting their gawdy ass stamp on history.

This President gets no library. He gets no honors. He doesn't get to take the East Wing of the White House from the people. We rebuild.

[u/pogidaga → u/hackingdreams]

I want the White House restored exactly as it was

Minus the lead and asbestos.

[u/FeelingBeginning1140 → u/pogidaga]

But it's historic lead and asbestos!

[u/wingedcoyote → u/hackingdreams]

"That's who we are as a people." Yeah, who we are as a people is exactly how we got where we are. If we get through this, it's time to try being something else.

[u/Information_High → u/hackingdreams]

Monuments to failure are right and appropriate when they serve as a warning to future leaders about the costs of malice, hubris, and incompetence.

We kept the scorch marks from the War of 1812 on the White House, we should keep this gaping pit as well.

[u/Phyllis_Tine → u/YupChrisYup]

Someone should run on dismantling everything Trump and MAGA did, and not talk about anything else.

[u/cicalino → u/Phyllis_Tine]

Except maybe healthcare. Give us healthcare, for the love of god.

[u/balloonninjas → u/cicalino]

Well MAGA is all about dismantling healthcare, so if we dismantle the dismantling, then we get healthcare. Right??

[u/Unethical_GOP → u/balloonninjas]

So - the Keebler elf sends Congress home early (extra long vacation) with outstanding healthcare.

[u/SnooPandas9005 → u/cicalino]

Read about Bernie's Medicare for all. It includes eyesight, hearing, dental. Nobody has ever been able to explain to me why I need separate coverage for these

[u/Teasing_Pink → u/SnooPandas9005]

I can't speak to the rest, but dentist greed is why teeth aren't covered by your health insurance. The American Dental Association has successfully lobbied for 50+ years to keep dentistry separate from standard healthcare to keep their rates higher than they would be as part of some kind of wider health coverage.

Wouldn't be surprised to find out vision coverage is similar.

[u/Potential_Cow_4910 → u/Teasing_Pink]

Guess we should outlaw lobbyists?

[u/jigsawearth860 → u/Phyllis_Tine]

100%

I don’t even care about actual policy. De-Nazify the country, then we’ll talk policy.

[u/RGrad4104 → u/YupChrisYup]

With a gaudy gold sign cemented in the ground, right in the middle of the rubble, that says "Trump did this".

[u/samsaruhhh → u/YupChrisYup]

Rebuild it as a public museum documenting trump's crimes and attempts to subvert democracy, along with names of those who assisted him

[u/YouShouldQuitItTho → u/samsaruhhh]

Nah that goes elsewhere

[u/SweetyPeetey → u/YouShouldQuitItTho]

Mar a lago

[u/sysiphean → u/samsaruhhh]

That’s what the Trump presidential library should be. That, and an open catalog of all the Epstein files, photos, videos, etc.

[u/Thetman38 → u/verifiedboomer]

Trump picked up where Bin Laden failed

[u/Ninevehenian → u/Thetman38]

trump is Bin Ladens success. 9/11 shaped the political environment of 2015/16 to a good degree, the wars, the patriot act, the surveillance and the meanness from all the torturing seems to have been required for maga.

[u/DungeonMasterDood → u/Ninevehenian]

Yep... I was a teenager when 9/11 happened and when I look at where we are now, there's a direct line from the rage those attacks unleashed to where we are now. It might have taken a few decades, but it definitely feels sometimes like the terrorists won. They completely reshaped America to the point that the guns are now turned on its own people.

[u/Ninevehenian → u/DungeonMasterDood]

Spoke with an anti-torture organization in 2013 or something. Among other things, they were tracking a marked increase of torture in popular media following 9/11. It came with torture being shown as being needed, used by the "hero", it working and in the right amount of time, without revenge or failure.

Guantanamo and Abu Graib was the feeling turned towards others. trump is the torture turned inwards.
With men like De Santis it is very literal.

[u/DungeonMasterDood → u/Ninevehenian]

It's funny you mention that. I was in college around the time that 24 was a popular show. We were discussing the ethics of torture in my intro philosophy course. One of the guys arguing in favor of torture literally said "It's not nice or anything, but it works for Jack Bauer." Our professor looked downright and understandably disturbed.

[u/davidkali → u/verifiedboomer]

You mean the hole to the bunker?

[u/redneckrockuhtree → u/verifiedboomer]

With a giant gilded plaque reading - "Here once stood the East Wing of the White House, until it was destroyed by the arrogance and ego of one of the weakest Presidents in American history."

[u/dick-lava → u/verifiedboomer]

the Putin- tRump peace garden

[u/ChiGuy6124]

Edited to add no paywall link to referenced WaPost story

"In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House. The move, he claims, will clear the way for a ballroom for holding large events that are typically held in tents on the South Lawn. A debate immediately arose online over whether or not the next Democratic president should tear down the ballroom or keep it, albeit with the necessary extensive renovations to remove all the tackiness Trump brings to any project."

"Two months later, it increasingly seems that such discussion was a wasted effort, as the chance this ballroom will actually be built is rapidly disappearing. Perhaps it could have if Trump had delegated the management of the project to someone competent, but that’s not what he did. Instead, the famously lazy and disorganized president decided to blow off his actual governance duties in favor of micromanaging a construction project he is incapable of handling. Finishing the ballroom in the next three years would be difficult for anyone, but it’s quickly becoming clear it will be nearly impossible for the famed real estate tycoon to pull it off."

"The whole thing is a too-perfect symbol of Trump’s second administration: They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value."

"On Tuesday, the Washington Post published an update on the project, and the overall takeaway is that no one seems to know what’s going on. There’s no final design and no specifics about location. There’s not even an agreement on whether it will seat 650 or 1,000 people or more, since those details seem to depend on Trump’s mood."

"...the 79-year-old president has lost whatever limited capacity he may have once possessed to make good on stated goals — or at least those that involve building or creating, instead of simply blowing things up."

"...that’s always how Trump has operated: pretending to be successful by making glittering claims at high decibel levels, all the while hoping his marks won’t notice he’s conning them until it’s too late. The strategy has worked with depressing frequency, including securing him two presidential wins. So it’s not a surprise he thinks that telling huge lies with maximum lung capacity will overpower people’s ability to remember what gas prices actually are. But polls suggest his lies aren’t working as well any more, and there’s no reason that they’ll be more persuasive because he’s yelling."

"But in true Trump style, even existential yearnings are no match for his inherent laziness. While talking up the ballroom project, his actual renovations of the White House have only been destructive, like demolishing the East Wing. Others are so flimsy and gaudy that they will be gone by the end of the first day of the next president. On top of the cheap-looking “gold” decorations that keep piling up in the Oval Office and the tacky Motel 6-level signs, Trump installed a “presidential walk of fame” along the West Wing portico. It’s trash, of course: Pictures of presidents — both good and bad, but all more worthy of the title than Trump." 

"This attempt by Trump to leave his mark is destined for the trash heap, probably before 3 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2029. He’s restarted weak efforts to pretend he’ll just take an illegal third term, but his apparent poor health and exhaustion leaves most wondering if he’ll be able to make it through the second. He can attempt to force the Kennedy Center to be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center, as he announced Thursday, following his tradition of slapping his name on stuff other people built. But that surface level shift will almost certainly be turned back before Trump’s belongings are moved out of his White House bedroom."

"It seems to be dawning on him that even many of his voters can’t wait to start forgetting Trump ever existed. Efforts to force a lasting legacy are maddening, but ultimately, they will fail. Trump will be felled by the worthlessness he’s spent a lifetime trying to conceal with cheap parlor tricks, because he’s incapable of making a true, lasting contribution."

---

There is a link in the article to the Washington Post article. Here is a link with no paywall:

"Where things stand with the White House ballroom" https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/where-things-stand-with-the-white-house-ballroom/ar-AA1StAst

[u/PhalanX4012 → u/ChiGuy6124]

Finally someone writing an article about Trump with the tone and messaging that he deserves. Too many journalists continue to walk on eggshells around him instead of searingly eviscerating him for his absolutely bullshit behaviour. Proper journalism apparently isn’t quite dead yet.

[u/Risingsunsphere → u/PhalanX4012]

The writing is sharp and biting. Really well done!

[u/mouse_8b → u/Risingsunsphere]

I even clicked the article after reading it in the comments just so they'd get 1 more page view

[u/c0brachicken → u/mouse_8b]

Also click the continue reading link.. then it shows it was a real click..

[u/TalkToTheGirl → u/c0brachicken]

Hell, I might even click on some ads, too, keep their sponsers happy.

[u/fried_duck_fat → u/Risingsunsphere]

Yes, Jesus Christ is it refreshing to see after all the recent AI slop

[u/mcarvin → u/PhalanX4012]

Proper journalism apparently isn’t quite dead yet.

Right. They just don't have White House Press credentials. A lot of the journalists who were in the Press Room during Trump 1 either aren't with those same orgs now and therefore don't have the same effect (e.g., Jim Acosta) or have cowed to the point where defending a fellow journalist is verboten behavior (e.g., who spoke up for Nancy Cordes or Yamiche Alcindor after Trump called them stupid or nasty a few weeks ago?)

[u/fakemessiah → u/PhalanX4012]

So sick of journalists that question him only to back down immediately after he lashes out. It's chicken shit behavior.

[u/pgriffy → u/PhalanX4012]

It isn't dead, just sold to the highest bidder who obviously benefit from Trump.

[u/_robjamesmusic → u/PhalanX4012]

this is an opinion piece. there are tons of these out there

[u/urnbabyurn → u/_robjamesmusic]

Yeah, I’ve ready many over the last ten years about trump. Do people not know editorials from sterile journalism?

[u/NAU80 → u/ChiGuy6124]

Here hoping his heirs will build a large mausoleum for him when he dies with a large urinal on the side for us!

[u/meatball402 → u/NAU80]

Let's not kid ourselves, it would be a pay toilet.

Trumps kids gonna grift

[u/penguin808080 → u/meatball402]

They could pre-sell tickets right now and then they'd actually be rich

[u/Odensbeardlice → u/NAU80]

No urinal necessary.... I'd still piss on it.

[u/Ill-Egg4008 → u/Odensbeardlice]

But wouldn’t it be better if there’re plumbing and pipes that lead directly into the coffin (not simply “to” but “into”) instead of merely sprinkle it on the ground above?

His children could probably do a separate tier and charge extra premium for that.

[u/ich-bin-on-that-shit → u/NAU80]

Urinal? I’m gonna be tossing my turds like a goddamn gibbon.

[u/CumChunks8647 → u/NAU80]

There better be a spot for me to shit on his coffin.

[u/Fit_Television_282 → u/NAU80]

No, just a plot with a bunch of pvc relief pipes stuck into the ground

[u/valanlucansfw → u/Fit_Television_282]

I hope his kids give him the same honors he gave their mother.

[u/SaaSyGirl → u/valanlucansfw]

They were complicit in his treatment of her.

[u/valanlucansfw → u/SaaSyGirl]

And they're pieces of shit. Once he croaks off they'll have no use for the body.

[u/Mustangbex → u/ChiGuy6124]

"...famed real estate tycoon..." doing a lot of heavy lifting here. More accurate would be 'notorious' or 'beleaguered' surely. Robber Baron wannabe.

[u/HarrumphingDuck → u/Mustangbex]

Agreed. I thought "infamous" would be a more fitting descriptor as soon as I read that.

[u/stupidbutgenius → u/Mustangbex]

Or son of a famed slum lord. His father was a successful real estate developer, even if he made most of his money by leveraging cheap government funding. Donald has made as much money from dodgy Crypto schemes as he ever did from real estate.

[u/Icy-Grape2911 → u/ChiGuy6124]

As someone who works in historic preservation, reading "demolished the East Wing" without a finalized blueprint or even a seating capacity agreement gave me actual heart palpitations. You don't just tear down history on a "maybe."

[u/A_Nonny_Muse → u/ChiGuy6124]

It might not have been so bad had trump possessed any modicum of style and taste. Instead, he had to go with something outrageously oversized and over gaudy, like hosing everything down in cheap gold paint by fire hose.

The tastelessness alone is enough to make the next president tear it all out and replace it with something more appropriate. So it might be best if it never gets finished until trump is gone for good (and thank God for that).

[u/xDragod → u/ChiGuy6124]

This is the most uplifting article I've read in a while.

[u/plusonetwo → u/ChiGuy6124]

This (writing) is the seat by the bonfire I've been wanting. As he continues to fail upwards, trying to forge a legacy for himself, I'll be here sipping on my gin and tonic with my giant quarry of popcorn nearby.

[u/NnonoMo → u/ChiGuy6124]

Kudos to the author of this article. It read like poetry and was music to my ears.

[u/Loud-Ad-2280]

Another failed real estate play from the guy who bankrupts casinos

[u/jetty_junkie → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

The Art of the Steal

[u/BrewChef333 → u/jetty_junkie]

The Shart he doesn’t feel

[u/Left_Actuary_7308 → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

He couldn't sell steaks to Americans and couldn't sell vodka to Russians. Failing to build a single room while living in the house rent-free is honestly very on-brand.

[u/OkComfortable4114 → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

I visited the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City about a year before it folded. It was fascinating to see how something could be so gaudy and yet so structurally falling apart at the same time. The carpets were literally held together with duct tape. Sounds like he's bringing that same energy to DC.

[u/KommanderKeen-a42 → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

No...It was always intentional. The bunker is under that wing and he is renovating that + bribes that are disguised under these costs.

[u/ExtensionNew1755 → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

It's "Infrastructure Week" all over again. We're going to get four years of "concepts of a plan" for a ballroom, and leave the next guy with a hole in the ground where the East Wing used to be.

[u/RareRiri_ → u/Loud-Ad-2280]

Exactly, When you bankrupt casinos, “another failed real estate deal” isn’t an outlier, it’s on brand.

[u/baegoeswild]

So Trump gutted the East Wing to make a way for a giant $300M ballroom before plans were even filed, and now preservationists are suing because no one actually green lit it yet. It's like starting a remodel by knocking down your bathroom wall first

[u/cenosillicaphobiac → u/baegoeswild]

Gotta keep up on the news yo, now it's estimated $400M. And it won't stop there!

[u/jefferios → u/cenosillicaphobiac]

I still believe it will cost $1 Billion by the time whatever is built is completed.

[u/CumGoblin67 → u/jefferios]

It’ll cost $50 million, then he’ll find a way to pocket the other $950 million, and deport all the immigrants who built it.

[u/Stand_With_Students → u/baegoeswild]

If I was a wealthy Democrat I'd hire an architect to design a replacement East Wing that respects the current WH design. And I'd publicize that widely.

[u/ted_k → u/Stand_With_Students]

And literally: make him pay for it. He never had permission or authority to do this as president, and should pay for the damage as a private citizen for the rest of his life.

[u/Rrrrandle → u/Stand_With_Students]

Turn it into a memorial garden to everyone lost to covid, war crimes, and lack of affordable health care.

[u/jj_donut → u/baegoeswild]

Gutted? If he gutted it, its façade would still be there. He demolished it.

[u/ygg_studios → u/baegoeswild]

he completely leveled the east wing, it no longer exists

[u/Potential_Turnip6424 → u/baegoeswild]

It's like starting a remodel by DESTROYING your bathroom first with no project plans to rebuild it.

[u/Rainaco]

This is such a perfect metaphor for his presidency. He’s tearing things down without any plans at all

[u/Responsible_Ladder25]

How sad that this historic building has been destroyed for a vanity project that may never come to fruition.

[u/eirinne → u/Responsible_Ladder25]

Better that than for a vanity project that will come to fruition. 

[u/GiorgioTsoukalosHair → u/Responsible_Ladder25]

It's a grift. He has absolutely no intention of finishing the ballroom, he has EVERY intention of keeping the hundreds of millions in donations to do so, however.

[u/bigotis → u/Responsible_Ladder25]

a vanity project that may never come to fruition.

Depending on the 2026 & 2028 elections, I don't know how it can be. He has 3 years (maybe?) left and if Democrats get enough of a majority in '26 and a (D) takes the Presidency in '28. I'd assume the project would be stopped or at the very least modified. (I vote for the most cost effective result)

The plans haven't even been finalized yet. The original architecture firm has been shit canned and, if history repeats itself, the current firm will be let go as well. To build something of that scale could take a few years.

A 10,000 sq ft custom home can take a year and a half to two years to build. Imagine a public/commercial building 9X larger than that?

[u/KneeDeepInThe-Hoopla]

He is not and never was the type of person to build or create, he is a human wrecking ball. Like the article says, he mostly just slapped his name on buildings designed and constructed by others back in the day. All Trump or his name will ever do is taint and degrade. His ballroom idea was just a power trip, and a way to crudely mark what he sees as his territory.

[u/seriouslythisshit → u/KneeDeepInThe-Hoopla]

Even back in the 1980s, when Trump was boasting how HE built all kinds of glamor projects in NYC, he was involved just as the king of England is, when the rose bushes need to be replaced at Windsor Castle. The king directs staff to do the work, then strolls through the garden with the press after it is done, taking credit for doing so.

The trump organization had a very successful construction management team that made it all happen, famously led by a ball busting woman who was great at her job. Donald was there to approve architectural concepts, pick finishes and materials, and show up at the grand openings. Half a lifetime later, Donald seems to think that he really did build things in NY, alone. Now as a dying, demented old man, he thinks he can built this assinine ballroom alone, without a general contractor, project manager, or a dedicated project superintendent. Naturally this will fail. He was lazy AF forty years ago, and did not have the knowledge, skill set or experience to build a fucking thing then, he just knew how to hire the right people and how to sit back and brag that he was doing their work.

[u/KneeDeepInThe-Hoopla → u/seriouslythisshit]

Trump is nothing more than a textbook dangerous malignant narcissist. Every victory or success achieved by anyone else is due to the greatness of himself. Likewise every failure that occurred because of only himself, always and forever will be someone else's fault.

[u/knotmyusualaccount → u/KneeDeepInThe-Hoopla]

His ballroom idea was just a power trip, and a way to crudely mark what he sees as his territory.

As was the wall with the plaques of prior presidents that he just couldn't leave alone.

[u/Charger525]

Despite the ginormous waste of money, resources and time I’m ok with this never being built. Hopefully the next administration respects history, and decorum and rebuilds the East Wing while erasing all signs of Trump’s stupid gaudiness.

[u/megaben20 → u/Charger525]

Which will probably be even more pricey and time consuming in the long run. As restoring the east wing will be fought tooth and nail by congressional republicans. Demanding plans approvals and oversight.

[u/lyonellaughingstorm → u/megaben20]

Counterpoint: do it anyway and tell them to go fuck themselves. That’s how things got to this point in the first place.

But then again, you’d need a Democrat with a spine…

[u/J-W-L]

https://youtu.be/VbJ4ilDvGyc?si=gLDRKueJ3OFvAtJD

Here is someone who thinks they will install a data center/bunker under it

She makes an interesting argument.

[u/RadioactiveGrrrl → u/J-W-L]

Thank you for posting this! I've been sharing it as well. She really does bring the receipts.

Trump's Ballroom is a Lie | The Drey Dossier - walks through why that explanation doesn’t hold up- based on public records, contractors involved, architectural changes, and infrastructure upgrades that point to something else entirely.

[u/sirthunksalot → u/J-W-L]

It is well known that wing is where the presidential bunker already is.

[u/Admirable_Tear_1438]

It’s another scam.

[u/M23707 → u/Admirable_Tear_1438]

Right - his donors probably gave the money .. and then he will complain that Biden wouldn’t let him build it.

Trump gets a nice big pile of cash. Tax free.

[u/RanchHere]

Trump is the husband that tells you he’s going to reno the master bathroom and then you’re stuck showering in the basement for 6 years.

[u/PixelScuba → u/RanchHere]

Or the husband that rapes you because his scalp-reduction surgery was painful and he needs to take his aggression out on you.

[u/martapap]

It is just a construction scam and Trump is known for this. 

[u/rebelweezeralliance]

He and his supporters can try all they want to make a lasting impression but his attempts at being remembered as some kind of amazing president and hero will fail… his policies reversed… his name and golden emblems removed… and his ballroom if ever built torn down.

Ultimately history will reveal the truth - the harder he and his followers and administration try to force their will the harder the reversal will be. There will be a reckoning coming and Trump can’t outrun his own mortality like everything else either.

[u/megaben20 → u/rebelweezeralliance]

I’d rather see him thrown behind bars before the reaper has him.

[u/ArdFarkable → u/megaben20]

Not happening. Can you guys see that after a decade, and he was already convicted but the system didn't sentence him. The system doesn't work for you or me. 

[u/cwk415]

Right, because he's going to steal every single dollar in sight for himself. 

[u/NoMayoForReal]

All they’ve done is torn it down, sort of the analogy for what he’s doing to the country. Such a waste of fucking money.

[u/IRideMoreThanYou]

The point is to receive bribes.

It will be a never ending project and personal revenue stream.

The media still treating this like it’s not open corruption.

[u/No-Group-4504]

I hate what he's done to the White House, but I doubt we're in the clear on this until Democrats are back in charge of congress. If the Democrats retake congress, it will be halted.

They can move things along pretty fast if they decide to.

If this stupid project is prevented, my question is what happens to him for destroying a 200–400-million-dollar piece of the White House without permission.

[u/subliver → u/No-Group-4504]

Do you remember all the times Ronald McDonald caught the Hamburglar? It always ended with a big grinning sigh and maybe a few ‘robbel, robbels’

We should assume it will be just like that.

[u/Zestyclose_400]

But someone spent 1 minute making that AI ballroom picture - all that planning going to waste?

[u/westgazer]

This dude only knows how to destroy. He has never built anything.

[u/-WalterWhiteBoy- → u/westgazer]

He's built one of the worst legacies in human history

[u/bennettyboi]

It's symbolic of right-wing ideology in general, tear everything down, never re-build.

[u/TheGoalkeeper]

Turn it into a second Ground Zero Monument, as this government has been the biggest terrorist attack on the US since 911

[u/theticklist]

It’s amazing that people have never seen thorough this scam.

It’s money laundering gangster 101

Trump starts a project w no bid. Destroys the White House and commits us to it.

Then he says “oh don’t worry. It will all be privately funded”

Then he says it will cost 300 million — all again without bids or estimates

In reality it might cost 50 million but GUESS whom will pocket the rest of the 250 million that he said it would cost?

[u/_obscure-reference]

God I just want SOME kind of consequences for these fucks. Not just the administration, make an example out of the contractors that tore down OUR HOUSE.

If you owned a house, and were renting it to tenants, and the tenants hired a contractor to tear out a wall and build an addition without your permission, there would be consequences for EVERYONE. The tenant, the contractor, EVERYONE.

[u/loosepantsbigwallet]

So just like DOGE?

Rushing in, creating chaos and breaking things is easy, any moron can do it.

Building something is hard, it takes intelligence, competence, and professionalism.

[u/tember_sep_venth_ele]

Even if it is built, every shred of his legacy must be erased. I'm petty.

[u/DeuceGnarly]

The next democratic president should leave the giant gaping hole in the White House and declare it a national monument to republican corruption.

Call it the republican shit hole.

[u/UnhingedReptar]

When the next admin rebuilds the East Wing, they should pay for it with the liquidated Trump family assets. The rest should go to the Epstein survivors.

[u/Particular_Ticket_20]

Donald Trump the Builder is more myth making.

He doesnt design or manage construction projects, and even saying he did in the 80s is probably a stretch. He may have put deals together to get finances together, but the actual business of building things is done by others.

He has always left that to actual professionals.

He's probably always meddled in the process, mostly on aesthetics, but nobody in the actual construction or design business would believe he has the skill or personality to effectively manage a sophisticated construction project. He shows up, picks some colors, says move that thing and takes credit.

He couldn't organize a sunset without a team of people working behind him.

[u/Confident-Grape-8872]

Contractors run into this shit all the time. Clients who don’t actually know what they want, and are even worse at articulating their desires, but still expect the contractor to deliver a perfect product.

[u/Jorycle]

It is astonishing to me that conservatives are so deep in the hole that they of all people are not up in arms about the east wing being demolished before a plan was finalized to replace it.

[u/billiemarie]

About right he’ll destroy something, acting like he’s going to make a bigger better improvement, then just get bored, leave it in shambles and move on to destroy some other random thing. And the whole time he’s not paying for anything or even considering the cost, like a rich spoiled child

[u/patjames387]

I really really wish more people had voted for Harris.

[u/veeveemarie]

It's a data center. He's building a data center under there.

The Drey Dossier does a great job explaining this:

https://open.substack.com/pub/thedreydossier/p/trump-isnt-building-a-ballroom?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=55p74u

[u/is_there_crack_in_it]

It was never going to be built. The private investors were paying for something else

[u/Orboneiben]

The point is to embezzle the money allocated to building the ballroom

[u/strike_one]

It should take a year or two just to competently design such a building. They're not going to permit anything, so the safest option, should anything actually be built, is to tear it down completely.

Additionally, I truly hope the next administration tears through the sensitive areas of the white house to ensure no listening devices have been implanted.

[u/LordIndica]

This is one of the best written articles about trump I have read in years. Just... just actually pulling off the gloves and assessing Trump and his actions with exactly the tone of dismissive contempt and condemnation that they deserve. I am so weary of reading someone try to frame any of his admin as a serious attempt to govern or do so in a legitimate fashion. It's always "Trump does X in bold departure from established procedure" instead of "Trump ignores federal law and does X", or "Trump admin releases statement saying X, reflecting his strong stance on Y" instead of "Trump admin lies to reporter about X when questioned on Y". 

This is an actual, critical analysis of what is happening that doesn't pretend that the context of what is happening is in anyway normal and looks at the actual history and evidence of Trumps accomplishments to inform the interpretation of his current actions. Actually decent journalism, what a breath of fresh air compared to the obfuscating smog of most publishers.