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TRUMP LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING!
Refute the Republican Rhetoric
By Bill Peifer
On Friday, Trump posted on Untruth Social:
Two Judges, one appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, the other by Sleepy Joe Biden, said in a ruling on the desperately needed SECURE Ballroom/Military Complex, including a major DronePort on the roof, that “Each President is a temporary tenant…of the White House.” We are not tenants, who pay rent and do all other things that a tenant must do, we are PRESIDENTS, elected by the people of the United States of America, and have many rights, including the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds, which has been built and rebuilt, renovated and rerenovated, repaired and, simply, MADE BETTER, many times since 1792, and never needing the permission of Congress, or anyone else, to do so. This decision, made after much of the work has been done and paid for, is a National Security Threat at the highest level. It is also a National Disgrace. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP
This rant was in response to a ruling by the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit which blocked above-ground construction of Trump’s massive and gaudy 89,000-square-foot ballroom project. It’s not a lie that the Appeals Court ruled against him. It’s also not a lie that the two judges who ruled against him were appointed by Obama and Biden. They did so, not based on politics, but rather on the grounds that the project requires congressional approval.
While routine maintenance and minor interior updates are managed through the executive branch and the National Park Service, both of which are controlled by Trump, federal courts have repeatedly ruled that major capital projects and new building additions on the property require explicit authorization and appropriations from Congress. Even Trump’s destruction of the Rose Garden to pave it and turn it into a look-alike of the swimming pool patio at Mar-a-Lago far exceeded the scope of many changes to the White House property in the past that had to have approval and funding from Congress.
Trump first tried to justify bypassing Congress by claiming that he and his “friends” were funding the project, but he has donated nothing and most of the private donations were coming from government contractors, which would make them a violation of federal laws regarding favoritism in government procurement. Now, Trump is trying to rationalize the big, ugly ballroom project by saying that there will be a DronePort on the roof, along with other “Military Complex” functions, which he claims are essential to protect him from attacks.
Essential? If anything, any drones sitting on the roof of any part of the White House property would be a logical “first-strike target” for anyone intending to do him harm. It would basically put a target on his back. If a DronePort is necessary, a location about 30 seconds away by air for a drone would make far more sense since there will always be at least a few minutes warning of any incoming attack.
Now, where could we find, in the densely developed DC area, a spot for a DronePort that’s less than 30 seconds away and large enough to at least equal the roughly two acres of roof area of the big, ugly ballroom? Well, right across the river from the White House sits Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, which totals roughly 380 combined acres. Take away the 29 acres taken up by the Pentagon and that leaves about 350 acres, much of which is open space. So, let’s estimate 300 acres available on which to build a DronePort, or roughly 150 times the space available on top of the big, ugly ballroom.
This has nothing to do with “national security”. It’s all about Trump’s ego. If there’s a “national disgrace” it’s Trump’s attempts to bypass Congress with ballrooms, arches, statues and other things that are designed to flatter his ego. And his claim that “much of the work has been done and paid for” is likely also a lie. The demolition of the East Wing is obviously done, but little else has been completed. And, since when has Trump paid for any construction work up front before it’s ever been completed? Hell, in the past he frequently didn’t pay AT ALL!
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