Use your leverage. Trump would.
The White House belongs to the people of the United States and is administered as a national treasure. Donald Trump treats it like just another of his shitty golf resorts. His demolition of the East Wing is hitting nerves even among Americans numbed by years of Trumpism.
From CNN’s 5 Things AM:
Some Americans are expressing shock and outrage as President Donald Trump demolishes the entire East Wing of the White House to make room for a lavish ballroom. The administration has bypassed concerns raised by preservationists and so far stopped short of seeking approval from the commission overseeing construction on federal buildings. Trump on Wednesday said the ballroom is expected to cost $300 million — up from a previously estimated $200 million — suggesting it could be a larger structure than initially planned. The White House on Wednesday released a list of donors for the project, which Trump has repeatedly said is privately funded. For decades, the East Wing has housed offices for the first lady, and its foyer has been the main point of entry for visitors attending social events and tours.
Do not let MAGA get away with repeating excuses for this Trumpish “monument to bribery.” “Privately funded” is beside the point, even if true. The White House is not Trump’s to do with as he pleases. He is a temporary resident (fingers crossed). Obama did some White House renovations too? Also beside the point. Obama went through a review and approval process, but those are Executive Branch functions in this case, and he controls the Executive Branch. The White House is not Trump’s to do with as he pleases. But who is going to tell him?
“Our hands are tied,” Rebecca Miller, executive director of the D.C. Preservation League, told the Washington Post. Normally such projects first get input from preservationists. “It’s very frustrating that there’s nothing that the organization can do from a legal or advocacy perspective.”
The Post adds, “The next stage of the project is also likely to proceed with few restraints: The key panel slated to review the president’s construction plans is now stocked with Trump allies ready to approve them.”
The New York Times reports:
The project has left historians and architects deeply alarmed. The National Trust for Historic Preservation on Wednesday urged officials to pause until it could go through the “legally required public review process.” Last week, Trump seemed to suggest to donors that “no approvals” were required for the project.
The emperor may have no clothes but he has a backhoe. He’s thumbing his nose at the nation. At you.
FWIW, here’s what I’ve gleaned from anecdotal experience. I was out at rush hour on Wednesday with the sign above. There were the usual horn toots, waves, and thumbs-up I’ve come to expect from doing this now for months (and now five days a week at different major intersections). Yesterday was different. I heard more shouts of “Fuck Trump” than ever before from passing cars, and they were angrier. People may not have noticed how Trump is steadily demolishing the U.S. Constitution and their Bill of Rights protections. But this demolition is visual. It registers. People feel it. It’s an open cut over Trump’s other eye.
Your job now is to make sure everyone you know and every online place you visit sees it. Work. The. Other. Eye.
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