No. of Recommendations: 12
This summary destruction of the East Wing with no warning, to be replaced with god knows what humongous gold plated monstrosity is the perfect encapsulation of all that's wrong with Trump's presidency. We can't just "kind of let it go".That left-wing hack, Peggy Noonan, has an interesting take on the ballroom, but also on the entire milieu around trump.
https://archive.is/20251025095433/https://www.wsj....A Republic, but Can We Keep It?Her take on the ballroom:
"...White House defenders dismiss qualms as pearl clutching—a big vital building’s gotta grow, it’s been torn down and built up before, we need more room.
"But all this was done without public demand or support, and was done in a way that was abrupt, complete, unstoppable. Congress has the power of the purse for such projects but the president says no, our wonderful donors are paying for it, but the names of the donors aren’t declared. Your imaginations goes to—why? Might certain bad actors be buying influence? Crypto kings, billionaires needing agency approvals, felons buying pardons, AI chieftains on the prowl. Might the whole thing involve corruption? Would it even have been attempted in a fully functioning, sharp and hungry republic? Or only a tired one that’s being disappeared?
"The photos of the tearing down of the East Wing were upsetting because they felt like a metaphor for the idea that history itself can be made to disappear."
Pete
