Renovations are not anything new to the White House, however, the timing of the East Wing demolition for a grand ballroom makes for “bad optics,” according to one expert.
Donald Trump is moving full speed ahead on plans to build a now $300 million “magnificent” ballroom during a government shutdown when many federal employees aren’t being paid and many recipients of food assistance have been told their benefits may be delayed or unavailable next month.
“With an estimated 750,000 employees furloughed during the government shutdown, taking on such a lavish project is bad optics,” said Chad Hankinson, a political science lecturer at Virginia Tech.
A White House spokesperson certainly added fuel to the controversial teardown by not being more careful with her words.
“At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is the president’s main priority,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.
To be fair, the question was about planned changes to the White House, but Leavitt should know to be more selective with her words.
After all, the White House, Republicans and the right-wing media ecosystem wrote the book on how to apply the same principle to their political rivals, regularly twisting comments to fit their narrative.
The quote from Leavitt, as innocuous as it may have been, didn’t play well with most Americans as the nation faces much more pressing issues including inflation, rising costs of healthcare, housing insecurity and threats to food-assistance programs.
ICYMI
- East Wing demolished to make way for grand ballroom, Trump says outrage is ‘fake news’
- SNAP benefits may be delayed in November, food crisis ahead for seniors, families
It’s not unusual for a president to renovate or redecorate the White House, but major renovations are usually out of necessity, Hankinson said.
“Redecorating has typically occurred to make much needed updates, reflect the personal style of the president and first lady, or to honor the president’s political views,” he said.
Trump adding gold to everything possible in the Oval Office, while tacky, is in line with other presidents changing out furniture, portraits, rugs or even drapes. However, most people agree that a grand ballroom is not an urgent matter.
“Major projects have been undertaken, usually out of necessity. As the president’s staff grew, more office space was essential. As presidents and their families spent more time in the White House, a more functional and comfortable living space was needed. And as times changed, updates were necessary to keep the White House a modern, functional working and living space.”
Trump’s laser-focus on the ballroom, instead of the struggles facing many families, isn’t sitting well with the majority of Americans. It comes on the heels of rising national debt, now $38 trillion, accelerating every single day under Trump; a $40 billion bailout to Argentina; and the careless spending of $170 million on two luxury private jets for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“The problems with the addition of the ballroom are costs, timing and necessity,” Hankinson said. “With inflation still high and rising, and unemployment at 4.3 percent, the American public is concerned about the state of the economy.”
Despite Trump claiming to be the most popular president of all time, recent polling found that 56 percent of the public disapprove of his presidency.
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Crystal Graham
