Trump can’t focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House. The move, he claims, will clear the way for a ballroom for holding large events that are typically held in tents on the South Lawn. A debate immediately arose online over whether or not the next Democratic president should tear down the ballroom or keep it, albeit with the necessary extensive renovations to remove all the tackiness Trump brings to any project.

Two months later, it increasingly seems that such discussion was a wasted effort, as the chance this ballroom will actually be built is rapidly disappearing. Perhaps it could have if Trump had delegated the management of the project to someone competent, but that’s not what he did. Instead, the famously lazy and disorganized president decided to blow off his actual governance duties in favor of micromanaging a construction project he is incapable of handling. Finishing the ballroom in the next three years would be difficult for anyone, but it’s quickly becoming clear it will be nearly impossible for the famed real estate tycoon to pull it off.

The whole thing is a too-perfect symbol of Trump’s second administration: They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    Say what you will, Salon gives good copium.

    It wont change anything about the political calculus of the country, which is well and truly fucked, but it’s a lovely café un croissant anyway.

  • [deleted]@piefed.world
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    16 days ago

    Trump can’t focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

    Didn’t it start out under $100 million?

    • Sumocat@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      It started at $200M and as “not affecting the existing structure” and will end as a $900M donation to the Trump presidential library, which will also not be built.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        Plot twist: the Trump Presidential library is built in place of the East Wing

        • zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          16 days ago

          Plot twist 2: The library will only be a small shelf because Trump is effectively illiterate and he will pocket the rest of the money.

          • [deleted]@piefed.world
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            16 days ago

            In a just world the library would be filled with the Epstein files and all of his executing orders with explanations about how they were illegal attempts to legislate from the oval office.

            • zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              16 days ago

              Instead, it probably going to be scrap books of under age girls he raped, a bible (for photo ops while holding it upside down), and Mein Kampf for anti-virtue signaling.

      • D_C@sh.itjust.works
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        15 days ago

        Oh, wow, really? Now I do wonder where all that money will end up…? Hmmm, I bet he will just return it and definitely not pocket it! Oh, no.

  • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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    15 days ago

    In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House.

    I hope anyone who experienced this trauma can get the psychological help they clearly need.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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        15 days ago

        Because I don’t clutch pearls over the destruction a piece of a building that was built by slaves and occupied by imperialists and pedophiles, that makes me a “pedophile enabler?”

        • dickalan@lemmy.world
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          15 days ago

          You’re the type of leftist everybody hates, clutch your Pearls as hard as you can, I don’t even think you’re real I think you’re Russian, being paid to troll and manufacture dissent online

          • AntiOutsideAktion@lemmy.ml
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            14 days ago

            It’s wild how liberals managed to become even more deranged and self reinforcing than the fascists

            • dickalan@lemmy.world
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              14 days ago

              Oh thank you Professor, your analysis is stunning and your work will be cited for many years on🤣🤣🤣

          • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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            15 days ago

            You’re right. How could it be otherwise? Everyone loves America. A real leftist would watch a child talking about how they’ve come to fear sunny days because that’s when the American drones fly, and would belt out, “I’M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, WHERE AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE!” It’s literally inconceivable that any actual American would look at all the needless deaths caused by everyone who’s sat in that building since, well ever, and would experience anything but trauma at seeing part of it torn down.

            It’s genuinely sickening to me that any of you liberals, clapping like seals when bombs are dropped on innocents because the news says it’s ok, thinking of yourselves as “true patriots,” and shunning any and all alternate perspectives, abjectly refusing to read any sort of theory - that any of you actually think that you’re some kind of “leftists.”

    • notwhoyouthink@lemmy.zip
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      15 days ago

      I hope you can get the softness of heart and openness of mind that you clearly need as well.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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        15 days ago

        My softness of heart is used to feel the pain of the many, many victims of the US government, and my openness of mind is used to understand their perspective. If you possessed either, you wouldn’t mourn over a symbol of imperialism.

  • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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    15 days ago

    They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

    Typical fascists. It’s all grandiose and talk. If one reads the history of Nazi and fascist policies, they tend to wing it. Fascism is a reaction and antithesis to rationalism. In that sense, why would they have a plan at all? Okay, maybe with Heritage Foundation, they have a plan, but overall it is about regression which ultimately doesn’t make sense apart from being an emotional reaction to caring about lgbt, migrants and social welfare.

  • etherphon@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

    Yet they’ll still come out richer than ever, what a world.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    I bet they can’t get any contractor to work on that, because the Administration has already stiffed the demolition crew and nobody wants to touch a job they will never get paid for.

    • Stern@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      You need to remember just how stupid some of his base is. There are pickme’s out there who will 100% jump at the chance and think surely Trump won’t stiff them.

      • jonne@infosec.pub
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        16 days ago

        I’m actually amazed how he keeps finding new suckers after decades of doing it in the private sector and almost 10 years of doing it as President. The only ones that really came out ahead are the criminals that bought their pardons. Everyone else gets screwed one way or another.

        • ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online
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          15 days ago

          Same here. Even back in 2010 and 2011 when I first started to look him up I was surprised that anyone could have trusted him or taken him seriously once the 90s rolled around. He should have been remembered as that conman from the 80s who is barely hanging onto life financially today.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          15 days ago

          A lot of the work is shoddy. The businesses doing the work have some kind of quid pro quo. Financing is involved, so the real bag holders will be lenders pitched a job they can never collect on.

          There’s a lot of different ways to pass the bill around in the modern economy, such that landing a $300M job on-paper can be leveraged to cheat and swindle people down the line.

            • Sculptor9157@sh.itjust.works
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              15 days ago

              Not to mention his whining overshadowed anything Biden had going on administratively. This, it’s been about about that idiot for a decade…and is still ongoing.

          • jonne@infosec.pub
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            15 days ago

            Not implying he was President during the Biden years. I guess I meant as a prominent politician.

          • Logi@lemmy.world
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            15 days ago

            And half are even dumber than the average (assuming assumed assumptions).

      • tempest@lemmy.ca
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        16 days ago

        On a personal level sure, but this isn’t a job for a random one man operation.

        At the top level you need a business and as much as business leaders love Trump (who doesn’t love a useful idiot) they would never risk their bottom line for it.

        All that and the fact that you would likely need a whole bunch of credentials to be building parts of the white house, or at least you likely used to.

        • tempest@lemmy.ca
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          15 days ago

          Actually on second thought I’m an idiot.

          If he actually builds that stupid ballroom he would have to pay for it. Much easier to just take the donations and leave a hole in the ground.

          How could I not see such an obvious grift.

          • Laurel Raven@lemmy.zip
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            15 days ago

            Not to mention, did we ever find out what happened to all the stuff that had been in the East Wing?

            Hell, I heard that the Resolute Desk had been spotted at Mar A Lago…

      • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
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        14 days ago

        The secret service still has to let them in though. That might narrow the field quite a bit. At least if the secret service hasn’t been gutted and filled with lackeys that is.

    • bagsy@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      That asshole hasnt paid any bills in decades, i cant believe anyone is still dumb enough to accept a job for this conman.

      • Restaldt@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        Well you see there are still plenty construction contractors that happen to be republican.

        And the very fact they are republicans means they never think anything is real or possible until they personally experience it first hand.

        There is a bottomless barrel of idiots for trump to screw over because he hasn’t personally fucked them all…yet

      • InvalidName2@lemmy.zip
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        16 days ago

        I bet the “I bet” at the start of the statement was meant to indicate that it’s not for real, just an example of one of the myriad things Trump has done over the years that might lead a contractor to be wary of taking on a job for him and which would be good rationale to avoid being next in line to be burned.

      • cenzorrll@piefed.ca
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        16 days ago

        That doesn’t mean he hasn’t stiffed them, just that particular story about congress blocking funds is fake.

      • half_built_pyramids@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        Wow, when did snopes become an absolutely adfucked shithole. Besides, as far as I can tell that article is focused on Congress stopping the payments being false, not whether or not they’ve actually been paid, which wasn’t clear to me.

  • Lung@lemmy.world
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    16 days ago

    Uhh idk about this article, it meanders randomly around various failings of the president (sure) but building a big room in 3 years with a ton of money available seems totally doable

    • jonne@infosec.pub
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      16 days ago

      It’s doable if you’re not constantly changing the plans. The issue appears to be that he keeps changing things about it. Every plan or rendering they’ve released is different and it keeps getting bigger with each iteration.