That's a lot of marble and gold. You know, look, I don't have a problem with gold, but I would probably say to the president, Let's just politically get over this little moment and then we can go back to making all the changes you want to make, Singleton said, looking sheepish. I do worry, however, if we give our Democratic friends something to sort of use against us. I don't want to do that!
On Monday, President Trump started knocking down the entire East Wing of the White House in order to build Probably the finest ballroom ever built. Here's how Americans responded. Destroy the entire East Wing. It's despicable. Does the president have the authority to do this? Absolutely not. Everything this country stands for, he will absolutely destroy it for the satisfaction of his own [expletive] ego.
You can't throw tariffs around indiscriminately and then not negotiate because you're mad about a pushback from one of the countries that you're having a trade war with. People are paying too much for groceries, for durable goods; inflation is up from September, all because of Trump's tariff taxes on all of us. It does have a negative effect on Americans, and it has a negative effect on Canadians.
It's long been evident that the MAGA siege on American governance is a glorified wrecking job, but this week's installment has been just a little too on-the-nose: After pledging not to molest the White House in the process of constructing a $250 million ballroom addition seemingly cribbed from the gaudier reaches of Versailles, President Donald Trump has now approved the demolition of the structure's entire east wing.
The White House has not submitted plans for Donald Trump's new ballroom to the federal agency that oversees construction of federal buildings, though demolition is already under way. On Tuesday, the White House told Reuters it intended to send plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, an agency that typically approves and monitors construction on federal buildings. Demolition began earlier this week, with reporters taking video of a backhoe ripping out chunks of the White House's exterior.
The East Room floor was sagging 18 inches. The president's bathtub was sinking into the floor. And the structure could no longer support the third level and steel roof that were added in 1927. In 1948, the Trumans were forced to vacate to the nearby Blair House - the official state guest house of the president - while the White House underwent a massive four-year renovation that cost about $5.7 million, according to the White House Historical Association.