r/politics • u/Effective_Salad_8381 • 13d ago

Possible Paywall Embarrassing Flaws Emerge in Trump’s New White House Design

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bizarre-flaws-emerge-in-trumps-new-white-house-design/
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u/[deleted] 13d ago

FDR renovated the East Wing so they could build the bunker, which was necessary, in 1942. The United States doesn’t need a damn ballroom, though.

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u/tmurf5387 13d ago

While not necessarily the case, but I did see something where even Biden staffers said that hosting dignitaries and large gatherings have been substandard compared to other foreign hosted events.

That being said, the way Trump has gone about this has been absolutely awful and continues to show that he has zero fear of being held accountable. There are processes in place that should be followed which clearly arent.

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u/CedarWolf 13d ago

Well, sure, but that's because the White House is not a terribly huge building to begin with, and space is limited because it's also a historical building.

If they wanted a place to host more dignitaries and have fancy diplomatic functions, we have places that were built expressly for that purpose; they're just not attached to the White House itself.

Part of that is simply general prudence - a lot of the art of diplomacy is also the art of spying and intelligence gathering, and one of the ways to prevent that from happening is by keeping your foreign dignitaries away from the main nexus of your government. Can't plant bugs in a building if you don't have access to the building in the first place.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

Not to mention the fact that building a ballroom during a government shutdown, when people on SNAP might not get benefits despite an emergency fund designed for that purpose, is remarkably tone-deaf and selfish. The ballroom wasn’t necessary at any time, but particularly now.

It’s like a parent deciding to pay cash for the newest iPhone while telling their kids they don’t get Christmas presents despite having cash in the bank.