Tag Archives: White House ballroom

Why No One Should Vote For Democrats In The Mid-Term Elections

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Usually when a political party is out of power and running in an election to gain power, they lay out their plan to make the country and everyone in it more successful. The out-of-power party gives us a positive reason to elect them. That is not the case in this November’s election.

On Monday, Townhall posted an article detailing some of the Democrat’s plans if they retake Congress. Nothing they plan will actually benefit the American people.

The article reports:

Democrats have given a glimpse of what they plan if they win back control of either chamber of Congress.

Other than launching another impeachment attempt against President Donald Trump, it appears Democrats also plan to renew their lawfare against Trump and his family. They plan to investigate the president’s family business to find something they can use against him.

The article quotes the U.K. Independent:

If Democrats win a majority in either the House or Senate in November’s midterm elections, corporate contributors funding President Donald Trump’s ballroom and participants in Trump family business transactions could face immediate congressional scrutiny, according to several lawmakers, legal experts, and Capitol Hill aides.

Securing command of either chamber would give Democrats subpoena authority and the financial resources to expand oversight staff. This would allow inquiries to begin as early as February, likely triggering prolonged legal disputes that would bring the Trump family’s business holdings into sharp focus.

Such congressional inquiries could define the second half of Trump’s term, following two years during which his family ventured into artificial intelligence, prediction markets, drones, and cryptocurrency, while the president’s personal wealth expanded by an estimated $2.2 billion.

“I don’t think the Democrats are going to have patience. They’re going to expect documents pretty quickly. You’re not going to play the old run-out-the-clock game,” noted Ashley Callen, an attorney at Jenner & Block and former general counsel to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Speaking to reporters on September 17, US House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York stated: “We’re going to hold the crooks accountable, beginning on day one.”

Much of President Trump’s worth is in real estate, which has increased in value during the past two years. I suspect that his other investments in Truth Social and other things have also paid off. President Trump was a shrewd businessman before becoming President. Why would that change? I would also like to point out that in America people are innocent until proven guilty. We also prosecute crime. We do not go after people searching for crime. We do not need two years of witch hunts–we need two more years of moving forward. Despite the fact that the mainstream media chooses not to report it, the Trump economy is doing very well. According to AI, the predicted third quarter growth of the American economy is 4.3%, significantly exceeding earlier forecasts. Let’s keep moving in that direction.

The article at Townhall concludes:

If they (the Democrat party) regain control of either chamber of Congress, not only are they going to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, but they are going to pick up where they left off before they lost control of the House.

Of course, this strategy has two purposes. Attack Trump and distract from the fact that they won’t actually have any real solutions to the problems Americans face.

When Judges Get Political

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On Friday, John Hinderaker posted an article at Power Line Blog about a recent judge’s decision regarding the ballroom President Trump is constructing at the White House.

The article reports:

In an earlier era, improving the East Wing of the White House by adding an underground secure area and an above-ground facility large enough to host significant international social events, and that includes bathrooms–something now lacking when such events take place in tents on the White House lawn–might have been uncontroversial. But Democrats fanatically oppose anything the Trump administration attempts to do, so they have tried to halt construction of the East Wing ballroom.

Today a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit  Court of Appeals ordered the Trump administration to cease all construction of the ballroom, while allowing construction of the secure underground area to go ahead. You can read the Court’s opinions here. The majority opinion was written by Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, and Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee. Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented.

The majority opinion goes on just about forever, 101 pages, but doesn’t seem particularly persuasive. The threshold issue is standing. The plaintiff in the case is the National Trust for Historic Preservation, but that organization has nothing to do with the White House grounds, which are under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Trust claims to have standing to sue because it has a member who occasionally walks past the White House and thinks she will consider the new ballroom to be aesthetically unpleasant. This strikes me as just about the weakest possible reed on which to hang a standing claim.

The article concludes:

Past presidents have made various repairs and improvements to the White House without specific Congressional authorization, but the majority dismisses these instances as “anomalies.” One imagines that in past eras–that is, eras not dominated by the Democratic Party’s insane hatred of Donald Trump–much-needed improvements to the White House grounds would have proceeded by consensus. But these days, there is no consensus on anything, and everything is a federal case.

The Supreme Court will have the opportunity to resolve this dispute, if it chooses to do so. Meanwhile, construction of the ballroom will stand idle and potentially exposed to the elements.

Hopefully this case will get to the U.S. Supreme Court quickly before the structure of the exposed building succumbs to black mold and other consequences of being left exposed.

A New Level Of Insanity

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On Sunday, The Epoch Times posted an article reporting that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit stating that the ballroom construction project at the White House violates several federal statutes. Does anyone think this lawsuit would be filed if it were anyone other than President Trump doing the construction?

The article reports:

The National Trust is also asking for an injunction to halt work on the project “until the necessary federal commissions have reviewed and approved the project’s plans; adequate environmental review has been conducted; and Congress has authorized the Ballroom’s construction,” according to the complaint.

The National Trust describes itself in the complaint as a private, charitable, educational nonprofit corporation that Congress chartered in 1949. Its purpose is “to further the historic preservation policy of the United States and to promote the public’s awareness of and ability to comment on any activity that might damage or destroy our nation’s architectural heritage.” The trust has filed preservation lawsuits against several presidential administrations, the complaint said.

The lawsuit lists several federal agencies and those who head them as defendants.

The defendants are: the National Park Service and its acting director, Jessica Bowron; John Stanwich, superintendent of the White House and President’s Park; the Department of the Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum; the General Services Administration and its acting administrator, Michael Rigas; and Trump.

The complaint said the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for the ballroom facility began in late October without congressional approval or approval from federal commissions responsible for development oversight in the nation’s capital. The federal government did not carry out required environmental studies, nor did it give the public an opportunity for comment, the complaint said.

In other words, let’s delay the project until President Trump is out of office. The project does not use taxpayer money and provides a ballroom that is desperately needed. I also suspect that all building permits are in order. That should be the end of the discussion.

Why?

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Every time I think members of Congress can’t say anything dumber, they prove me wrong.

On Sunday, Fox News reported the following:

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said the next Democratic presidential nominee must vow to demolish President Donald Trump‘s White House ballroom, proposing the pledge a litmus test for the party’s 2028 contenders.

“Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE,” Swalwell wrote on X on Saturday.

Swalwell’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital for additional comment.

For the first time in its history, the White House will have a formal ballroom, a new addition built where the East Wing once stood, a project that has become a political flashpoint as photos of the demolition fuel debate over President Trump’s mark on the historic residence.

On July 31, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the planned construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The sprawling ballroom will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the classical design of the White House.

“The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance,” Leavitt said, adding the new ballroom will be “a much-needed and exquisite addition.”

I am not always a big fan of President Trump’s taste, but this ballroom is needed. Outdoor tents are tacky. Outdoor tents are much more tacky than any decor that can be put in the coming ballroom. I can’t help thinking that if former President Biden had done this, Representative Swalwell would have praised it.

There is another factor to consider when looking at the design of the ballroom. President Trump is a second-generation American. His grandparents on his father’s side came here from Germany and his mother came here from Scotland. Germany is the home of beautiful cathedrals and amazing art. America builds simple churches and simple buildings. I wonder how much of President Trump’s taste in architecture and decor is rooted in the culture of Europe.

The Hysteria Continues

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The political left’s hysteria over the addition of a ballroom to the White House continues. Those objecting choose to overlook the fact that the addition is paid for by private money and that the addition is needed to provide a place for larger gatherings. Meeting in tents outside because the White House is limited in the number of people it can host is simply not appropriate. There are not that many months when the climate of Washington, D.C., is all that comfortable outside–humidity, heat. and cold are normal occurrences. Those objecting also seem to forget that additions and changes to the White House have occurred multiple times over the years–paid for with taxpayer money.

On Thursday, Townhall reported:

New York AG Letitia James vowed to make a name for herself by prosecuting President Trump, vowing to “get” the former President and going so far as to try and seize his properties. Frank Luntz warned her that such a move would make Trump more popular with voters. Luntz was right, and now James is facing charges of mortgage fraud.

The Left is calling that prosecution a “weaponization” of our justice system. That’s adorable for a variety of reasons, of course. Enforcing the law is not a “weaponization” of anything, and Democrats spent years telling us “no one is above the law.”

What they meant by that, of course, is that Republicans aren’t above the law. Democrats, on the other hand, are.

Rather than learning from this — after all, many people warned them that weaponizing the government against Republicans would backfire — Democrats are doubling down.

Case in point: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just vowed to investigate the people who made private donations to President Trump’s White House ballroom project.

The article notes:

Jeffries said, without evidence, that the donors were probably using the donations to curry favor with the Trump administration.

“More likely, this is part of what Donald Trump has been doing since day one of his presidency: running the largest pay-to-play scheme in the history of the country. And probably soliciting donations from people who’ve got business before the United States government,” Jeffries said.

“And all of this is going to have to be investigated. It will. All of this will have to be uncovered. It will. And these people are going to be held accountable, no matter how long it takes,” Jeffries continued. “And that’s a warning to all of these people participating in this scheming to manipulate taxpayer dollars and, of course, to destroy the people’s house. The White House belongs to the American people. It doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.”

Right. And 75 million Americans voted for Donald Trump to be president. It’s their house, too. Hakeem Jeffries went on MSNBC and threatened people who are making lawful donations to improve the White House.

President Trump was a successful businessman before entering politics. In the circle of people he hung around with, a donation of several thousand dollars is probably not even noteworthy. The idea that this is pay-to-play is ridiculous, particularly since the Democrats in Congress never seemed to question President Biden’s seemingly endless supply of funds.