The Left has a whole new bone to gnaw on; the unforgivable physical changes Trump is making and has already made to the White House. But let's be honest; would this concern the Left as much if Clinton, Obama or Biden had done this? If not, then the real issue is the who and not the what. For a little context, JFK, Jacqui and Obama all discussed the need for a Ballroom. Are they guilty as well??
Every bit of
bureaucratic red tape they say he has illegally bypassed would be dealing with
the allocation of tax dollars exclusively, which are not being used here.
Additionally, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has been
delegated all authority to oversee every bit of construction from one end of
the Mall to the other - with zero Congressional oversight, beyond funding
requests. What remains, is plan review, inspections and occupancy permits, the
first of which is tacitly blessed by NCPC already (see below).
One
enterprising gotcha-debater asked me how I would like some stranger entering my
home and making changes without my permission (pointing out that it’s the
People's House) Well, firstly, it isn't like we own anything, now does it?
Property taxes, building permits, complex property boundary requirements,
wetland protection laws, Home Owner Association rules, certain excise taxes, in
some states, taxes on presumed property value increases, ad nauseum... They
(the government) tell us what to do with our property all day, every day. Just
ask the "owners" of property along Mass Ave in Lexington Mass how
much they "own"...
Here's just
a short list of changes the White House has seen for those earnestly, uniquely
concerned about breaches of historical trust versus who is making these latest
changes:
Whitehouse
Construction, Remodeling, Additions, Repairs of note:
- 1791 Cornerstone laid under George Washington
- 1814 Burned to the ground by the Brits
- 1817 Monroe moves back in
- 1830 North Portico built under Andrew Jackson
- 1857 Harriet Lane added a Green House on the roof under Buchanan
- 1870 - 1880 Grant and Hayes added several Conservatories
- 1902 West Wing added as well as Tennis Courts and removed the Conservatories under T Roosevelt
- 1909 West Wing expanded and remodeled and moved the Tennis Courts under William H Taft
- 1913 Ellen Wilson added the Rose Garden under Woodrow Wilson
- 1927 The Third Floor, Roof Remodeling and the Solarium under Calvin Coolidge
- 1929 West Wing Fire Remodeling under Herbert Hoover
- 1933 Second Floor added with personal swimming pool under FDR
- 1942 East Wing built as well as a Movie Theater under FDR
- 1948 – 1952 – The entire building was gutted/demolished and rebuilt including undergirding with the addition of a 22 foot deep foundation, reinforced concrete floors throughout, steel girders, new plumbing and electrical systems, new trim and a bowling alley, under HS Truman including the addition of the "Truman Balcony" which was very controversial at the time.
- 1954 Putting Green under Eisenhower
- 1969 Added a new one lane bowling alley under RM Nixon
- 1970 Pool was filled creating the Press Briefing Room and transformed a bedroom into a Game Room under RM Nixon
- 1975 Outside swimming Pool under Ford
- 1977 Office of the First Lady in the East Wing under Jimmy Carter
- 1993 Quarter Mile jogging track under Clinton
- 2009 Michelle Obama created the White House Kitchen Garden and Barrack changed the Tennis Court to a Basketball court
- 2025 Flagpole and Patio financed by Trump and Partners.
- 2025 Construction started on a Ballroom/Function Hall, financed by donations under DJ Trump, side note: both Obama and Kennedy complained about the lack of suitable Function Hall space on the property...
"
WASHINGTON (AP) — Demolition to build President Donald Trump’s new ballroom off
the East Wing of the White House can begin without approval of the commission
tasked with vetting construction of federal buildings, the Trump-appointed head
of the panel said Thursday.
Will Scharf,
who is also the White House staff secretary, said during a public meeting of
the National Capital Planning Commission that the board does not have
jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal
property.
“What we
deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said. He called
Trump’s promised ballroom “one of the most exciting construction projects in
the modern history of” Washington.
He made the
comments during the only public meeting of the commission scheduled before
crews are expected to break ground on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot
ballroom likely to greatly alter the look and size of both the White House’s
East and West Wings. "
Semper Fi;
John Bernard
ADDENDUM
10/25/2025: Trump Ballroom; additional thoughts:
No
improvement comes without destroying some history and without an associated
feeling of guilt. But nothing on earth is eternal but the Soul. Everything else
breaks down due to weather, dust, moth, rust, decay (Matt 6:19-21). What worked
100 years ago, usually does not work today without a lot of alteration
including the necessary, pre-emptive Demolition of what is being upgraded
which, is hard to watch for many. But, it is a reality of life on this Earth.
Based on the outrage, you would think the naysayers had never seen demolition
equipment much less demolition.
For those of
my classmates I have been talking to about this and even some family, the Swain
School and Wilmington High School held an enormous amount of history and
memories for all of us and yet, they were both victims of the wrecking ball to
make room for modern structures for those not yet given to sentiment.
Leveraging
an accusation of sacrilege at those who plan and sanction the razing of any
structures (even or possibly especially for church buildings, ie, 1 Cor 3:16)
which are simply being removed for the sake of improvement and upgrade -
especially when those same structures have been repeatedly remodeled and
changed, is borderline Idolatry. The East Wing is just 83 years old and was a
very simple functional space - not the White House; an addition to, the primary
purpose for which was camouflage for the underground bunker it was used to
mask.
It is
hypocritical at the least for those same naysayers to take such umbrage with
this particular, managed upgrade when they remained silent or to even have
cheered on or instigated the razing of statues and monuments; the torching of
Federal Buildings, setting Police Cruisers on fire, looting businesses and a
long list of other crimes including murder in the wake of Floyd's death
declaring those acts of unbridled violence as righteous acts.
Truthfully,
this whole episode has very little to do with the What, if it weren't for the
Who and the Who would be wrong as long he/she brandishes an R rather than a D.
If Jacki Kennedy, JFK or Obama all of whom desired a Ballroom, had spearheaded
this project, the exact same naysayers would demand the striking of a new Medal
to hang around their necks. So this has a lot more to do with the visceral,
unbridled hatred for a man, whom, ironically, as the Founders envisioned, left
a lifetime of civilian productivity to Serve for a brief period of time,
employing those very useful gifts, talents and experience he garnered over
several decades for the better of the Nation as determined to be so by a
majority of Electoral and Popular Votes.
In contrast,
the Presidents they would have preferred do this including John F Kennedy (whom
I deeply respected), Clinton, Obama, Biden and hopeful, Harris never held jobs
on the outside that were not paid for by tax dollars or trust funds and thus no
practical, transferrable, personal knowledge or experience to draw from to get
the project they all thought was necessary, started or completed.
In this
regard, Trump, a lifelong Builder and darling of the Left until he changed
Parties, has in fact, the wherewithal, contacts and literal experience to start
and complete what the others could only dream about.
At some
point, those who are complaining about every little thing, who are planting the
seeds of violent action including, ironically, exhorting their drones to buy
and strap on guns, to target ICE agents, Republicans and by proxy, those who
voted differently than they demand, attacking federal facilities, stopping
traffic even preventing first responders passage if that is the way they want
history to record them? History tends to record them as troublemakers and
terrorists - not the freedom fighters they see themselves as...
Semper Fi;
John Bernard
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