US Politics
‘Gold plated monstrosity’: Trump’s $400M ballroom plans inundated with negative comments as public weighs in
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Thousands have weighed in with nearly universal disapproval in public comments about President Donald Trump’s planned $400m (£297m) ballroom at the White House, as the project faces a key review vote on Thursday at the National Capital Planning Commission.
“The size and design of the proposed White House Ballroom are hideous,” one commenter wrote. “I object to the decision to ruin the American public’s historical legacy.”
Another, from architect Donna Wax, called the president’s plans for a gilded, 22,000-square-foot ballroom inside a newly built, columned East Wing a “fascist take on classism.”
“What Donald Trump is doing to the White House and proposing for other construction is appalling,” Penny Jarrett, who grew up outside Washington, told the commission in a February comment. “How could he just ‘do that’ without consent from you or Congress? PLEASE don’t let him get away with him building this addition, gold-plated monstrosity, as it will be a replica of his ‘gold plated lifestyle’ which is disgusting.”
More than 98 percent of the more than 10,000 pages of comments were negative, according to a New York Times analysis, and some of the criticism came from unlikely sources.
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“I have substantial concerns regarding the action or inaction by the National Capital Planning Commission and/or the White House during the undertaking of the demolition of the East Wing of the White House,” Republican Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, co-chair of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, wrote of the plans in a newly released October letter. “The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were deeply disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation’s history.”
The commission, chaired by a White House staffer and former personal lawyer for the president, will vote Thursday on whether to move forward with the project.
A staff report ahead of the meeting noted the “substantial” number of public comments, “the majority in opposition” to the project, but still recommended moving forward with the renovation.
Last month, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, another review board filled with Trump allies, approved the project, despite not seeing the final design and similarly being deluged with almost entirely negative public comments.
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Last week, a federal judge rejected a preservation group’s request for an injunction to block the project.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed an amended lawsuit over the weekend. It alleged the Trump administration violated multiple federal laws by embarking on the construction project unilaterally last fall without prior approval from the two planning commissions and Congress.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, no President Biden, and not anyone else,” the suit reads.
Outside of the planning process, the project has generated controversy because of its private funding from past donors to the Trump campaign and inauguration, including numerous large tech companies.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.