DEAR AMERIKA; YOU ARE SO FUCKED!
Trump completes demolition of White House East Wing: satellite images
By AFP
October 23, 2025
This handout satellite photo obtained on October 23, 2025 from Planet Labs PBC and dated October 23, 2025 shows the White House in Washington, DC, after the demolition of the East Wing - Copyright 2025 Planet Labs PBC/AFP Handout
Danny KEMP
Demolition workers have finished tearing down the White House’s entire East Wing to make way for US President Donald Trump’s giant new $300 million ballroom, satellite pictures showed Thursday.
The completion of the wrecking work came as the White House released a list of donors to the ballroom including Apple, Google and Meta.
A gray and brown patch of rubble can now be seen in the area that used to be occupied by the iconic building, according to the images shared with AFP by Planet Labs PBC and dated Thursday.
Satellite photos taken just under a month earlier show the wing that housed the offices of the US first lady intact.
The complete destruction of part of one of the world’s most famous landmarks is a far more extensive demolition than previously announced by Trump — and happened virtually without warning.
When the former property magnate unveiled his plans in July, Trump said that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building” and that it would be “near it but not touching it.”
But after work started this week, Trump said Wednesday that he had decided after consulting architects that “really knocking it down” was preferable to a partial demolition.
He insists the 1,000-seat ballroom is essential because state dinners and other large events currently have to be held in tents that are temporarily erected on the White House lawn.
Trump also said that the new ballroom would cost $300 million, raising the cost from the $250 million quoted by the White House days before, and the $200 million it cited in July.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told an AFP reporter in a briefing that $300 million was now the definitive number but said that “it’s not going to cost the taxpayers a dime.”
– Tech donors –
Billionaire Trump says the ballroom will be funded entirely by private donors and by himself.
The White House released a list of the donors to AFP on Thursday. They include US tech titans Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Palantir, as well as defense giant Lockheed Martin.
Individual donors include the family of Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who were made famous as jilted investors in the movie “The Social Network” about the birth of Facebook.
“How much am I donating? I won’t be able to tell you until it’s finished,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “I’ll donate whatever’s needed, I’ll tell you that.”
Many US presidents have carried out upgrades to the White House but Trump’s ballroom is the biggest in more than a century.
While lower profile than the West Wing where the president works, the East Wing had stood in one form or another for 123 years since the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
It received a major makeover in 1942 from President Franklin Roosevelt and was until this week home to the first lady’s offices. It was also the main point of entry for guests for tours and parties.
As criticism mounted about the demolition, the White House Historical Association — an independent group that helps preserve the history of the presidential home — said it had been helping with preservation work.
The association had carried out a “comprehensive digital scanning project and photography to create a historic record,” it said in an email to members obtained by AFP.
It added that “historic artifacts have been preserved and stored.”
Trump’s wrecking of the East Wing has provoked howls of outrage led by his Democratic opponents, including former first lady and 2016 presidential election rival Hillary Clinton.
Another top US historic group, however, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, had urged Trump to pause the demolition.
It said in a letter on Tuesday that it was “deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself” and urged the plans be put before the agency that oversees work on government buildings in Washington.
The White House argues that Trump had the authority to go ahead with the demolition without needing the agency’s sign-off.
Trump's billionaires' ballroom is a signpost to something very dark for us all
Robert Reich
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
Ongoing demolition on the East Wing of the White House.
Robert Reich's new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org
Robert Reich
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
Ongoing demolition on the East Wing of the White House.
REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak
In the first Gilded Age, which ran from the 1890s through the 1920s, captains of American industry were dubbed “robber barons” for using their baronial wealth to bribe lawmakers, monopolize industry, and rob average Americans of the productivity of their labors
Now, in a second Gilded Age, a new generation of robber barons is using their wealth to do the same — and to entrench their power.
The first Gilded Age was an era of conspicuous consumption. The second is an era of conspicuous influence.
The new robber barons are having their names etched into the pediments of the giant new ostentatious ballroom Trump is adding to the White House.
They already own — and influence — much of the news Americans receive. And they are eager to promote their views.
Marc Benioff, the billionaire founder and CEO of Salesforce, told The New York Times that Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco. (After his remarks drew condemnation from many of the city’s civic leaders, he apologized. He seems about to get his wish nonetheless.)
Marc Rowan, the billionaire chief executive of Apollo Global Management, is the force behind Trump’s recent “compact” calling on universities to limit international students, protect conservative speech, require standardized testing for admissions, and adopt policies recognizing “that academic freedom is not absolute,” among other conditions. The Trump regime dangled “substantial and meaningful federal grants” for universities that agree.
(It didn’t work. Seven of the nine universities approached rejected the deal.)
Billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, is also shaping the Trump regime’s campaign to upend American higher education. Schwarzman has emerged as a key intermediary between Trump and Harvard University.
Other of America’s new robber barons are rapidly consolidating their control over what Americans read, hear, and learn about what’s occurring in our country and the world. They include Jeff Bezos; Larry Ellison and his son, David; Mark Andreessen; Rupert Murdoch; Charles Koch; Tim Cook; Mark Zuckerberg; and, of course, Elon Musk.
Perhaps the new robber baron’s most lasting impression on the U.S. government will be the lavish White House ballroom Trump is constructing — a 90,000-square-foot, gold-leafed, glass-walled banquet room that will literally overshadow the so-called People’s House.
It will not be an assembly hall, dance hall, music hall, dining hall, village hall, or town hall. It will be a giant banquet and ballroom designed to accommodate 650 wealthy VIPs.
Trump claims that the East Room, the largest room in the White House, is too small. Its capacity is 200 people. He doesn’t like the idea of hosting kings, queens, and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.
Trump’s real intention is to have the White House resemble Versailles.
Potential billionaire donors have already received pledge agreements for “The Donald J. Trump Ballroom at the White House.” In return for donations, contributors are eligible for “recognition associated with the White House Ballroom.”
Their names will be etched in the ballroom’s brick or stone edifice.
Trump last week hosted a dinner at the White House for the project’s donors, which included representatives from Microsoft, Google, Palantir, and other companies, as well as Schwarzman, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and other billionaires.
Meredith O’Rourke, a top political fundraiser for Trump, is leading the effort, paired with the Trust for the National Mall, an organization that supports the National Park Service.
The trust’s nonprofit status means donations come with a federal tax write-off.
Construction began Monday. Trump is now literally taking a wrecking ball to the White House — sending parts of the East Wing’s roof, the building’s exterior, and portions of its interior crumbling to the ground.
It seems fitting that in this second Gilded Age — an age of conspicuous influence and affluent access — the People’s House will be replaced by the Billionaires' House.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/
In the first Gilded Age, which ran from the 1890s through the 1920s, captains of American industry were dubbed “robber barons” for using their baronial wealth to bribe lawmakers, monopolize industry, and rob average Americans of the productivity of their labors
Now, in a second Gilded Age, a new generation of robber barons is using their wealth to do the same — and to entrench their power.
The first Gilded Age was an era of conspicuous consumption. The second is an era of conspicuous influence.
The new robber barons are having their names etched into the pediments of the giant new ostentatious ballroom Trump is adding to the White House.
They already own — and influence — much of the news Americans receive. And they are eager to promote their views.
Marc Benioff, the billionaire founder and CEO of Salesforce, told The New York Times that Trump should send the National Guard to San Francisco. (After his remarks drew condemnation from many of the city’s civic leaders, he apologized. He seems about to get his wish nonetheless.)
Marc Rowan, the billionaire chief executive of Apollo Global Management, is the force behind Trump’s recent “compact” calling on universities to limit international students, protect conservative speech, require standardized testing for admissions, and adopt policies recognizing “that academic freedom is not absolute,” among other conditions. The Trump regime dangled “substantial and meaningful federal grants” for universities that agree.
(It didn’t work. Seven of the nine universities approached rejected the deal.)
Billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, is also shaping the Trump regime’s campaign to upend American higher education. Schwarzman has emerged as a key intermediary between Trump and Harvard University.
Other of America’s new robber barons are rapidly consolidating their control over what Americans read, hear, and learn about what’s occurring in our country and the world. They include Jeff Bezos; Larry Ellison and his son, David; Mark Andreessen; Rupert Murdoch; Charles Koch; Tim Cook; Mark Zuckerberg; and, of course, Elon Musk.
Perhaps the new robber baron’s most lasting impression on the U.S. government will be the lavish White House ballroom Trump is constructing — a 90,000-square-foot, gold-leafed, glass-walled banquet room that will literally overshadow the so-called People’s House.
It will not be an assembly hall, dance hall, music hall, dining hall, village hall, or town hall. It will be a giant banquet and ballroom designed to accommodate 650 wealthy VIPs.
Trump claims that the East Room, the largest room in the White House, is too small. Its capacity is 200 people. He doesn’t like the idea of hosting kings, queens, and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.
Trump’s real intention is to have the White House resemble Versailles.
Potential billionaire donors have already received pledge agreements for “The Donald J. Trump Ballroom at the White House.” In return for donations, contributors are eligible for “recognition associated with the White House Ballroom.”
Their names will be etched in the ballroom’s brick or stone edifice.
Trump last week hosted a dinner at the White House for the project’s donors, which included representatives from Microsoft, Google, Palantir, and other companies, as well as Schwarzman, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and other billionaires.
Meredith O’Rourke, a top political fundraiser for Trump, is leading the effort, paired with the Trust for the National Mall, an organization that supports the National Park Service.
The trust’s nonprofit status means donations come with a federal tax write-off.
Construction began Monday. Trump is now literally taking a wrecking ball to the White House — sending parts of the East Wing’s roof, the building’s exterior, and portions of its interior crumbling to the ground.
It seems fitting that in this second Gilded Age — an age of conspicuous influence and affluent access — the People’s House will be replaced by the Billionaires' House.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/
Robert Reich's new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org
'White House is not his house': Ex-Trump official bashes president's fancy new ballroom
Robert Davis
October 23, 2025
Robert Davis
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
CNN screenshot
Former White House official Marc Short bashed President Donald Trump's ballroom project, which included the complete demolition of the East Wing, during an interview on CNN on Thursday.
Short, the chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, discussed the project on CNN's "The Arena with Kasie Hunt." Short argued that the White House likely prefers that the media continue to focus on the story because of all the other problems the administration is dealing with, such as the tenuous peace deal in the Middle East and Trump's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"The White House is not his personal house," Short said. "It belongs to the American people, and it's the American taxpayer who pays for it. So the fact you have other people donating, I think, is a little bit of a canard, but I also think it's clear the White House is on the defensive right now."
"They probably also would rather you cover this than the fact that farmers and ranchers are actually now rising up about the president's trade agenda," Short said to host Kasie Hunt.
"He's going to China because the trade agenda is that much in disarray," he continued. "You have nine months of trying to coax Putin, and you actually have disruption, and you have to sanction Russia. You have a so-called peace deal in Israel that seems to be falling apart. And so there are a lot of big issues that impact the American people daily, and to be covering this is probably preferable for them."
CNN screenshot
Former White House official Marc Short bashed President Donald Trump's ballroom project, which included the complete demolition of the East Wing, during an interview on CNN on Thursday.
Short, the chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, discussed the project on CNN's "The Arena with Kasie Hunt." Short argued that the White House likely prefers that the media continue to focus on the story because of all the other problems the administration is dealing with, such as the tenuous peace deal in the Middle East and Trump's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"The White House is not his personal house," Short said. "It belongs to the American people, and it's the American taxpayer who pays for it. So the fact you have other people donating, I think, is a little bit of a canard, but I also think it's clear the White House is on the defensive right now."
"They probably also would rather you cover this than the fact that farmers and ranchers are actually now rising up about the president's trade agenda," Short said to host Kasie Hunt.
"He's going to China because the trade agenda is that much in disarray," he continued. "You have nine months of trying to coax Putin, and you actually have disruption, and you have to sanction Russia. You have a so-called peace deal in Israel that seems to be falling apart. And so there are a lot of big issues that impact the American people daily, and to be covering this is probably preferable for them."
'Reeks of bribery': Ex-Trump aide warns Trump's fancy ballroom a money laundering scheme
Sarah K. Burris
October 23, 2025
Sarah K. Burris
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
U.S. Secret Service officers patrol near where a demolition crew continues to remove the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, seen through columns of the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump's former White House aide shredded him for demolishing the East Wing of the iconic, centuries-old building that represents the American presidency, and warned the project "reeks of bribery and corruption."
Speaking to MSNBC's Chris Jansing, former Trump deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews sounded the alarm about the "corruption" involved in the project itself.
Trump claimed his planned, $250 million ballroom would not be built at taxpayer expense. First, he claimed he would pay for it himself, but now he's recruiting "friends" like Meta, Amazon and Palantir Technologies to donate funds for the project, and Matthews lamented the East Wing's destruction.
"I think for the American people, this is tough to watch. We look at these images of the East Wing just being completely destroyed," Matthews said after remembering her time working in the structure for first lady Melania Trump. "This is not Trump's house, this is the people's house, and there can be arguments to be made if this ballroom was necessary. [Then] he could have gone through the proper channels for this to get approved."
Matthews said that the broader discussion about the project "just reeks of this broader narrative of the reckless destruction taking place under this administration, and not just that, but the corruption. Because you look at the list of these donors, you see companies like Meta, Amazon, Palantir. These are all companies that have bent the knee to him and then have been awarded contracts, and so it just reeks of bribery and corruption."
She went on to call it "disappointing" that the historic building was "going to be replaced with this monument to lavishness and the gaudiness of Trump."
Interior designer Sarah Boardman has spent the last several days on Threads calling attention to possible corruption around the project.
"I ran these numbers in August. Just as a note, this ballroom costing $200 million and supposedly 90,000 ft is about $2,200 a square foot," she wrote Tuesday evening. "In D.C., let's say a level four, maybe a level 5 finish commercial is about $600 a square foot. Let's say on the outside it's $800 a square foot because it's literally being constructed by Craftsman. That other 120 million that'll end up in his pocket. Signed a builder."
She later noted that the price was increased to $250 million. On Wednesday afternoon from the Oval Office, Trump raised the cost estimate to $300 million.
"It is not permitted. They did not get planning permission," Boardman continued. "There are no records that any EPA permits were done. Any testing, soil testing, building testing. This is absolutely a money laundering grift. And it won't cost $250 million. It will be three times that and there's no way that it's going to be done in 3 years."
U.S. Secret Service officers patrol near where a demolition crew continues to remove the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, seen through columns of the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump's former White House aide shredded him for demolishing the East Wing of the iconic, centuries-old building that represents the American presidency, and warned the project "reeks of bribery and corruption."
Speaking to MSNBC's Chris Jansing, former Trump deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews sounded the alarm about the "corruption" involved in the project itself.
Trump claimed his planned, $250 million ballroom would not be built at taxpayer expense. First, he claimed he would pay for it himself, but now he's recruiting "friends" like Meta, Amazon and Palantir Technologies to donate funds for the project, and Matthews lamented the East Wing's destruction.
"I think for the American people, this is tough to watch. We look at these images of the East Wing just being completely destroyed," Matthews said after remembering her time working in the structure for first lady Melania Trump. "This is not Trump's house, this is the people's house, and there can be arguments to be made if this ballroom was necessary. [Then] he could have gone through the proper channels for this to get approved."
Matthews said that the broader discussion about the project "just reeks of this broader narrative of the reckless destruction taking place under this administration, and not just that, but the corruption. Because you look at the list of these donors, you see companies like Meta, Amazon, Palantir. These are all companies that have bent the knee to him and then have been awarded contracts, and so it just reeks of bribery and corruption."
She went on to call it "disappointing" that the historic building was "going to be replaced with this monument to lavishness and the gaudiness of Trump."
Interior designer Sarah Boardman has spent the last several days on Threads calling attention to possible corruption around the project.
"I ran these numbers in August. Just as a note, this ballroom costing $200 million and supposedly 90,000 ft is about $2,200 a square foot," she wrote Tuesday evening. "In D.C., let's say a level four, maybe a level 5 finish commercial is about $600 a square foot. Let's say on the outside it's $800 a square foot because it's literally being constructed by Craftsman. That other 120 million that'll end up in his pocket. Signed a builder."
She later noted that the price was increased to $250 million. On Wednesday afternoon from the Oval Office, Trump raised the cost estimate to $300 million.
"It is not permitted. They did not get planning permission," Boardman continued. "There are no records that any EPA permits were done. Any testing, soil testing, building testing. This is absolutely a money laundering grift. And it won't cost $250 million. It will be three times that and there's no way that it's going to be done in 3 years."
'Most beautiful ballroom anywhere!' Trump's project just got an eye-popping new price tag
Matthew Chapman
October 23, 2025
Matthew Chapman
October 23, 2025
RAW STORY
The cost of President Donald Trump's ballroom addition to the White House has gone up, from its original stated price of $200 million to nearly double that, the president admitted while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
"Have you raised the full $300 million needed to fund your ballroom, and how much specifically are you donating to this construction?" asked a reporter.
"Actually, we raised, I think, $350 million, all donor money, and money that we put up, uh, we've raised, it's going to be, it's going to cost right in the neighborhood of $300 million," said Trump. "It's been expanded and made, absolutely, it'll be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world, I think."
"And how much specifically are you donating to it personally?" reporters followed up.
"How much am I donating? I won't be able to tell you until I finish, but I'll donate whatever is needed. I'll tell you that," said Trump.
The ballroom project, which has already resulted in demolition work on parts of the East Wing despite previous promises it would not alter any existing structure, has triggered outrage from observers who fear Trump is reshaping the White House too aggressively in his own image, as well as those angry he is focusing on a vanity project for his own residence at a moment when the federal government is shut down over a standoff about extending health care funding for millions of people.
The cost of President Donald Trump's ballroom addition to the White House has gone up, from its original stated price of $200 million to nearly double that, the president admitted while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
"Have you raised the full $300 million needed to fund your ballroom, and how much specifically are you donating to this construction?" asked a reporter.
"Actually, we raised, I think, $350 million, all donor money, and money that we put up, uh, we've raised, it's going to be, it's going to cost right in the neighborhood of $300 million," said Trump. "It's been expanded and made, absolutely, it'll be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world, I think."
"And how much specifically are you donating to it personally?" reporters followed up.
"How much am I donating? I won't be able to tell you until I finish, but I'll donate whatever is needed. I'll tell you that," said Trump.
The ballroom project, which has already resulted in demolition work on parts of the East Wing despite previous promises it would not alter any existing structure, has triggered outrage from observers who fear Trump is reshaping the White House too aggressively in his own image, as well as those angry he is focusing on a vanity project for his own residence at a moment when the federal government is shut down over a standoff about extending health care funding for millions of people.
Trump just sent a sinister message with 'appalling' ballroom design: Nobel laureate
Adam Lynch,
Adam Lynch,
Alternet
October 24, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump holds an image of a rendering of the new White House ballroom to be built, as he meets with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Economist Paul Krugman said President Donald Trump’s removal of a whole White House wing is typical Trumpian style: an “act of vandalism" being paid for by large corporate donors — mostly tech and crypto companies — seeking to buy Trump’s favor.
“I am sure there will be a Trump meme-coin dispenser installed on every table,” Krugman said.
But the vandalism is a symbol of an even bigger destruction, warned the Nobel laureate. Trump’s demolition of the White House “isn’t a remodeling or building an addition, it’s a teardown." And he added it’s a “highly visual metaphor for the way MAGA is tearing down almost everything good about our country.”
“Masked government agents are snatching people off the street. The National Guard has been sent into major cities on the obviously false pretext that these cities are in chaos. The U.S. military is essentially murdering people on the high seas. Huge tariffs are, in addition to their economic costs, undermining a system of alliances former presidents spent generations building,” Krugman said. “Green energy is being eviscerated, vindictive prosecutions are the norm, and many millions are on course to lose their health insurance.”
So why does Krugman talk about Trump’s "appalling design sense"?
“… [B]ecause tackiness and tyranny go hand in hand,” he said. “Yes, Trump has terrible taste and probably would even if he didn’t have power and, thanks to that power, wealth. But the grotesqueness of his White House renovations is structural as well as personal. For the excess and ugliness serve a political purpose: to humiliate and intimidate. The tawdry grandiosity serves not only to glorify Trump’s fragile ego, but also to send the message that resistance is futile.”
“… And that ballroom’s hideousness is an equally good metaphor for all the political ugliness that lies in our future,” Krugman said. “… The ballroom is a sign, not just of Trump’s personal vulgarity, but of the collapse of small-r republican norms. Trump is turning the people’s house into a palace fit for a despot partly because that’s his taste, but also to show everyone that he can. L’etat, c’est moi (I am the state).”
Spying Trump’s handiwork, Krugman said he now finds himself “frequently thinking of how the Roman Republic degenerated into a dictatorship.”
“What happened? Modern historians of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire mostly agree upon one explanation for the Republic’s collapse – namely that the enormous loot from Rome’s conquests created a class of incredibly wealthy oligarchs who were too wealthy and powerful to be constrained by republican norms, institutions and laws.”
“The modern parallels are obvious,” said Krugman, who posted a photo of Jeff Bezos’s $250 million yacht, with its large pool, jacuzzi and personal “beach club.”
Read Krugman’s full essay on his Substack here.
October 24, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump holds an image of a rendering of the new White House ballroom to be built, as he meets with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Economist Paul Krugman said President Donald Trump’s removal of a whole White House wing is typical Trumpian style: an “act of vandalism" being paid for by large corporate donors — mostly tech and crypto companies — seeking to buy Trump’s favor.
“I am sure there will be a Trump meme-coin dispenser installed on every table,” Krugman said.
But the vandalism is a symbol of an even bigger destruction, warned the Nobel laureate. Trump’s demolition of the White House “isn’t a remodeling or building an addition, it’s a teardown." And he added it’s a “highly visual metaphor for the way MAGA is tearing down almost everything good about our country.”
“Masked government agents are snatching people off the street. The National Guard has been sent into major cities on the obviously false pretext that these cities are in chaos. The U.S. military is essentially murdering people on the high seas. Huge tariffs are, in addition to their economic costs, undermining a system of alliances former presidents spent generations building,” Krugman said. “Green energy is being eviscerated, vindictive prosecutions are the norm, and many millions are on course to lose their health insurance.”
So why does Krugman talk about Trump’s "appalling design sense"?
“… [B]ecause tackiness and tyranny go hand in hand,” he said. “Yes, Trump has terrible taste and probably would even if he didn’t have power and, thanks to that power, wealth. But the grotesqueness of his White House renovations is structural as well as personal. For the excess and ugliness serve a political purpose: to humiliate and intimidate. The tawdry grandiosity serves not only to glorify Trump’s fragile ego, but also to send the message that resistance is futile.”
“… And that ballroom’s hideousness is an equally good metaphor for all the political ugliness that lies in our future,” Krugman said. “… The ballroom is a sign, not just of Trump’s personal vulgarity, but of the collapse of small-r republican norms. Trump is turning the people’s house into a palace fit for a despot partly because that’s his taste, but also to show everyone that he can. L’etat, c’est moi (I am the state).”
Spying Trump’s handiwork, Krugman said he now finds himself “frequently thinking of how the Roman Republic degenerated into a dictatorship.”
“What happened? Modern historians of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire mostly agree upon one explanation for the Republic’s collapse – namely that the enormous loot from Rome’s conquests created a class of incredibly wealthy oligarchs who were too wealthy and powerful to be constrained by republican norms, institutions and laws.”
“The modern parallels are obvious,” said Krugman, who posted a photo of Jeff Bezos’s $250 million yacht, with its large pool, jacuzzi and personal “beach club.”
Read Krugman’s full essay on his Substack here.
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