Tearing Down The House
The Democrats and the legacy media are constantly finding ways to attack President Trump. The latest outrage that has them clutching their collective pearls is the building of a ballroom addition to the White House, replacing parts of the East Wing built by President Roosevelt 90 years ago. The historic main structure stays untouched.
The fake indignation over construction of the privately funded White House Ballroom borders on absurd when the history of renovations and expansion of the Presidential residence are revealed. The fact is that Presidents have been renovating and expanding the White House for more than 100 years. Consider the following facts.
In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing. Reports indicate the expansion was sorely needed. Bully for him.
In 1909, President William Howard Taft added the first Oval Office during a West Wing expansion. Due to his size, a special, oversized bathtub was also installed in the White House. Rumors are that it is in storage. Perhaps, Illinois Governor Pritzker could use it.
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt added a second floor to the West Wing. In 1934, he moved the Oval Office to its current spot. He then completely renovated and rebuilt the East Wing, finally adding an indoor swimming pool. The East Wing wasn’t even a part of the original White House. It was added in the 1940’s to conceal the construction of an underground air-raid shelter during WWII and then later became office and event space.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman completely gutted and rebuilt the entire White House interior, preserving only the exterior walls. A balcony was added to the main building and is known as the Truman Balcony. Harry and his wife Bess spent most of their time living across the street at Blair House while the work was taking place.
In 1970, President Nixon converted FDR's pool, where President Kenndy allegedly frolicked with nubile young female staffers, into the press briefing room. Then in 1973, he added a bowling alley in the basement. No reports have surfaced that staff had to wear White House issued bowling shirts to get in a few frames.
In 2009, President Obama upgraded the tennis court into a full basketball court. He did this so LeBron James and Michael Jordan could give him shooting lessons. The media cheered the project even though at the opening President Obama missed several shots despite exceptional coaching.
Now, President Trump has broken ground on a grand ballroom, modernizing the facilities while privately funding the project. No longer will guests at major state dinners be housed in a temporary tent, erect on the south lawn. No more porta potties, which convey a certain indignity for the ladies, will be hauled to the grounds. Amazingly no taxpayer dollars are being used unlike what previous administrations did when they initiated various improvements.
Rather than focus on the drug runners in the Caribbean, or the war in Ukraine or peace in the Mideast, or the out-of-control gang violence in Chicago, the legacy media acted like rabid dogs in the latest White House press briefing. They peppered Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with seemly endless hostile questions about the construction of the new facility. Particularly nasty was Weijia Jiang of CBS news. She is a well-known Trump hater, and her extreme bias was on display, leaving viewers no doubt of her venom.
This is much ado about nothing. If any other President had advocated this improvement, the uproar if any would have been minimal or nonexistent. Clinton, Obama or Biden would have been lionized if they had proposed a ballroom and the taxpayers would have footed the bill. Instead the Nation gets caterwauling from The View ladies, Hillary Clinton, Senators “Pocahontas” Warren and Amy Klobuchar about history being destroyed. What nonsense.
However, since a well-known Republican builder is doing it with private and donated funds, the outrage will be never ending until the media finds something else to hate about President Trump.