WaPo Editorial Board Praises Trump’s ‘Aggressive Approach’ To Building His New Ballroom
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The Washington Post Editorial Board praised President Donald Trump’s “aggressive approach” to building his White House ballroom, even if his methods have been inelegant.
“In classic Trump fashion, the president is pursuing a reasonable idea in the most jarring manner possible,” the Board wrote on Saturday evening, referring to the visuals of the East Wing being demolished into rubble.
But had Trump submitted his plans ahead of time for a traditional review process instead of taking matters into his own hands, the project never would have gotten off the ground, the Board claimed. Instead, “The blueprints would have faced death by a thousand papercuts.”
The article, titled simply “In Defense of the White House Ballroom,” continued:
Though the fundraising for the ballroom creates problematic conflicts of interest, two examples validate Trump’s aggressive approach. After a fence jumper got inside the White House in 2014, it was obvious that better perimeter fencing needed to be installed. But doing so involved five public meetings of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) over two years, as members took pains to ensure the fencing complied with environmental rules. Construction didn’t begin until July 2019.
Or consider the modest Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial near the National Air and Space Museum. Congress authorized its creation in 1999. Architect Frank Gehry was selected in 2009. The NCPC rejected Gehry’s initial design proposal in 2014 before approving a revised plan the next year. The Commission of Fine Arts gave its approval in 2017. The memorial wasn’t opened until late 2020. By contrast, Eisenhower planned and executed D-Day in about six months.
“Privately, many alumni of the Biden and Obama White Houses acknowledge the long-overdue need for an event space like what Trump is creating,” they wrote. The alternative for state dinners has always been tents and porta-potties erected on the South Lawn, and the Board claimed, “the next Democratic president will be happy to have” the upgrade.
Saturday’s WaPo post also stands out, considering paper owner Jeff Bezos made his billions as the founder of Amazon, which is listed as a donor on the $300 million project.
