Tear Down the Ballroom

Andrew Sullivan: “It’s a perfect symbol of what Trump has done to our democracy. He asked no one’s permission, stacked every commission with cronies and hacks, demolished the East Wing with almost no notice, and financed the boondoggle with bribes from major corporate machers, including, yes, Jensen Huang.”

“The new Trump House is about 90,000 sq ft, compared to the 55,000 of the former White House itself. The monstrousness is not fully clear yet — but as it takes shape some more, and the sheer scale of it sinks in, it will become apparent what this is really about: stamping Trump’s brand on our democracy forever. It might as well have a giant, gold TRUMP banner on it. It’s a monument to autocracy, oligarchy, and corruption.”

“That’s why I’m not just being rhetorical in arguing that it must be stopped or, if not stopped, torn down as soon as we can. It’s not just the aesthetic offense. It’s that its survival will be a permanent insinuation of Trumpism into our national character and identity.”