The ballroom is a big story, but the lack of a construction permit apparently doesn’t matter, given the Supreme Court precedent that while in office, whatever the President does is essentially fine. It’s galling and it’s wrong, but the way Trump acts in ways that are above the law, and the way in which the Supreme Court has allowed it, means I won’t be holding my breath for the permit to come through to approve construction.
In many ways I think the ballroom is just the thing, for Trump. It changes the news cycle in the direction of a fight that he does want. And it appeals to his vainglorious disposition.
Meanwhile, the AZ congresswoman has not been sworn in (I think it’s now 5 weeks after she won her election), the vote on the release of the Epstein files has not happened, Trump’s past involvement has not been investigated properly, Trump’s ICE Gestapo-army is terrorizing blue cities, generals and admirals are leaving the armed forces because they don’t want to be part of a dictatorship, and the government shutdown continues to harm millions of families while Trump grifts along and enriches himself.
I’ll offer a slightly contrarian view on the ballroom, gaudy and unpleasant as the whole process is. Compared to numerous other things that are going on under Trump, it is not that big of a deal. Yes, it will look like Liberace’s boudoir, and yes, there will be back-handers and favors all around it. But at the end of the day there will be a suitable meeting space for grand, head-of-state type functions. I could live with that, if only more important matters were addressed.
