this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025
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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.

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[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

Did he "forget" to pay the contractors?

[–] JustTheWind@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Crazy, you're telling me it was always a distraction? As a side note; It's nice to see that his taste in interior design always looks identical, no matter what. He's really committed to the overly gaudy, B-rated, villainous anime aristocrat archetype. It's the one thing he's weirdly consistent about.

[–] phx@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

They can get a phallic shaped rocket from Bezos. I wonder who is going to supply the volcano lair?

[–] Cnote5@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

This lady has a good video about it. https://youtu.be/VbJ4ilDvGyc

[–] not_me@piefed.social 2 points 6 days ago

Trump the destroyer

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 220 points 1 week ago (8 children)

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 183 points 1 week ago (8 children)

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.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 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.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 116 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

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 23 points 1 week ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 40 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I bet they can't get any contractor to work on that, because the Administration has already stiffed the demolition crew

I wanted this to be true... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-east-wing-demolition-congress/?collection=471833 Unfortunately it's not

[–] half_built_pyramids@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 21 points 1 week ago (10 children)

I wonder what a demolition crew does if you don't pay them. Other tradies will typically just rip out their work, but it's not like a demo crew can easily rebuild something they tore down.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 43 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Maybe that's Trump's big plan: don't pay the demolition crew, and hope that they build a massive ballroom in protest.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 18 points 1 week ago
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[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 33 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Also, you try finding a construction crew on the east coast he hasn't personally stiffed already

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[–] Bonifratz@piefed.zip 124 points 1 week ago (3 children)

The fact that Trump just randomly tore down part of the White House still makes me laugh.

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 1 points 5 days ago

We need to start calling this Trump’s Folly everywhere and for now on.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 40 points 1 week ago

Wait until you see the shit stains on the constitution.

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[–] TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world 85 points 1 week ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 65 points 1 week ago (26 children)
[–] Lightfire228@pawb.social 26 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This reads as way too competent a plan and scheme for Trump's admin.

I can't decide which is scarier, that Trump's admin is so incompetent they can't build a ballroom, or competent enough to plan and build a project like this while hiding it from the public

Project 2025 is 50% executed. There are some competent people pulling Trumps strings.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 week ago

Too competent for Trump, absolutely. But there are some pretty scary competent people behind him, whispering in his ear. As the video details, the people he's hired to work on his "ballroom", also happen to be some of the world's leading experts on building super secure, military grade data centers. There's not a lot of overlap between those things, so it's hard to imagine that it's just a random coincidence.

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[–] ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 53 points 1 week ago

Trump has a track record of not paying people. Even court records to prove it. Blows my mind the demo team agreed to do this and now they’re not getting paid. No money, no worky

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 44 points 1 week ago

Man who failed at casinos unable to build ballroom. Who could have forseen this!?!?!

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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

Didn't it start out under $100 million?

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 56 points 1 week ago (6 children)

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.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

Not unexpected. He handed all kinds of government jobs to the terminally incompetent.

[–] cAUzapNEAGLb@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I think there's a pretty good argument laid out in this video that the ballroom is a literal cover for a bunkered database

https://youtu.be/VbJ4ilDvGyc

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[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago (2 children)

So he vandalized the Whitehouse for nothing?

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[–] RattlerSix@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

"There is no real direction here, neither lines of power nor cooperation. Decisions are never really made – at best they manage to emerge, from a chaos of peeves, whims, hallucinations and all around assholery."

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