With the wave of a magical Trumpian wand, the historical East Wing of the White House vanished. Leaving in its place the disarray of a construction site and a contentious ongoing legal battle over a ballroom. Trump has now requested the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene upon on his behalf.
On the pretext of the need for a big, secure, glamorous ballroom Trump steamrolled past permits and public opinion and with lightening speed bulldozed the East Wing out of existence.
Initially Trump claimed the new ballroom would require “not one dime of government money” and instead would be privately funded. Well, like many of Trump and his Republican political supporters pronouncements, this proved to be yet another bamboozle on the American public. Earlier this year Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, announced the appropriation of $1 billion for “security adjustments and upgrades” for the construction project.
Listen carefully … observe the plans within plans
(With apologies to Frank Herbert for slightly misquoting Dune)
On various occasions Trump has boasted about a six-stories deep bunker that is to be constructed underneath the new East Wing ballroom. On his Truth Social account the president has posted AI-generated images of a heavily fortified White House “DronePort” on the East Wing roof and stated “This great and very important military asset sits atop the heavily protected Ballroom at the White House. It provides National Security for Washington DC, and will protect future Presidents!!!”
Back in May, Trump described the roof: “The entire roof is built for military. They have a massive drone capacity. Not only is it drone-proof, if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact. But it’s also meant as a drone port that would protect all of Washington.”
An additional detail is that the ballroom’s windows will be four inches thick and made from a special kind of glass. Trump is reported as excitedly saying, “You can see through it as though it doesn’t exist.”
Mark my words, he will have the fairest bunker of them all.
Now, my British cousins, dovetail this aspect of military construction with the recently-announced order by Trump that the Defense Department will keep approximately 2,500 National Guard troops deployed in Washington DC through January 2029 at the not-so-modest cost of $1.4bn. Would you not say that this begins to feel like a private army on call to, well you know who?
Another component of the plan is the upgrade to the security of the White House proper. Renovations are underway to fortify the entrance doors as well as the overall security of the North Portico of the White House.
Is the White House preparing for a siege?
Surely you, my British cousins, are not planning to send troops to burn down the White House as you did once on 24 August 1814? Yes we need to restore democracy and sanity to the US, but ask yourselves, would you really want this former colony back?
All tongue-and-cheek humor aside, I know all too well you too have worries of political and economic strife on your own doorstep. Truth be told, why would any country take it upon themselves to sort out the mess that has been made here in the US?
I can’t help but muse today: what siege or incursion is it that Trump, his politicians, and the oligarchy supporters are anticipating unfolding in Washington DC? Indeed, I have written in past missives of the harm I believe our president and his cohorts are doing to my country. But what has changed to require such a comprehensive security uplift now?
Looming large on our horizon are the upcoming November midterm elections. Could the secret service and administration be anticipating a backlash, a rising up, a revolution? The extent of the security and military works together with the timing remind me of a page from your own history when William the Conqueror built motte and bailey castles to secure and defend his foothold. Is Trump building not just a golden ballroom, but his own, twenty-first-century castle?
Something unsavory…
I believe something unsavory is quietly brewing behind the ballroom scenes with all these renovations and it doesn’t bode well for this democratic republic. A republic, I will add, whose constitution is already in tatters by the actions of the US Supreme Court.
I just hope that come November 2028, when the Stars and Stripes flies over the new glitzy ballroom and the bunker underneath, that Trump’s administration remember what our flag stands for – red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. Yes, justice, above all justice. Justice to not interfere in the electoral process and justice to respect the outcome.
The Trump administration may have re-written the history of the 6 January 2021 insurrection. But others remember a different view of what they saw as an attempted coup. Reading the runes suggests that the expectation is that this November will, alas, be far from peaceful.
And on that disquieting note, as morning has slipped into noontime, it is time to put the kettle on for a restorative cup of tea.
Until next I write, I bid you adieu.
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