The people of our country built the White House shortly after our Revolutionary War with England, and in 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid.
In 1800, President John Adams was the first to move into the White House, which has been a symbol of our nation’s values, strength and democracy throughout our history. It endured our Civil War and political strife, embodying the spirit of the American people — it is not a castle for a king.
According to our history, in the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson, along with Congress, built terraces on both the east and west sides of the White House. In 1902, the East Wing of the White House was constructed under the Theodore Roosevelt administration and served as both an entryway for the public and as offices. In 1942, the structure housed the White House theater and the Office of Legislative Affairs, with rooms for conferences and other functions. Below the wing was an emergency operations center.
Last week, over 120 years later, the East Wing was torn down at the direction of President Trump, who believed he could act without the authority of Congress or the people. On Oct. 20 of this month, President Trump initiated the demolition of the East Wing to construct a $300 million, 90,000-square-foot “ballroom” in its place. The president previously stated that the ballroom would not “interfere with the current building,” a claim that stands as a sad statement to historians and the American people. Standing tall for more than a century, the destruction of the East Wing is outrageous to most Americans, as the action effectively erased decades of cherished history.
Many organizations have condemned Trump’s actions, citing that the teardown has clearly been done without any legal authority. The American Institute of Architects was one organization that decried the demolition of the East Wing after it was first proposed, urging the administration to “halt any further irreversible alteration of the historic fabric.” The National Trust for Historic Preservation called on officials to stop the project until it undergoes the “legally required public review process.” Lawmakers have criticized the project, with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer referring to the ballroom as a “vanity project” for the president himself.
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The president’s demolition of the East Wing epitomizes the administration’s total disregard for our nation’s principles, which have been pervasive throughout his short presidency. The demolition embodies his administration’s defiance of the public and its assertion of claims to authority it does not have.
The collapse of the East Wing represents the collapse of our country’s ideals and is the physical demolition of our democracy — it underscores the fragility of our nation under this administration.
Unfortunately, a number of Big Tech firms and oligarchs have been seeking the favor of Trump and are assisting in the destruction of the people’s White House. It is reported that the $300 million Trump “ballroom” is being funded by Apple, Google, HP, Meta, Palantir and a cluster of others in the new world of AI, crypto and tech. One example is Google, which contributed $22 million to the project as part of a legal settlement arising from President Trump’s suspension on YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on our Capitol. Such donations raise serious concerns regarding political access and influence and undermine the very principles the East Wing once stood for.
Adding to the group supporting the “rebuilding” of the new ballroom are Microsoft, Lockheed Martin and Amazon (which is currently firing thousands of employees), as well as several individual billionaires who are all receiving tax relief under Trump’s new program. They are using the Trust for the National Mall as a funneling device for this project. Trump’s ballroom is not something we need when we are in a crisis over funding medical relief for millions of our citizens or for others in desperate financial need as the current government shutdown continues. Along with many others, I wore a uniform to protect and support our nation, not to support the building of another Mar-a-Lago on the people’s home.
Joseph W. Cotchett is an attorney and is in the California and the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. He is a former national president of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and received a B.S. in engineering from Cal Poly and his J.D. from the University of California Law, San Francisco. He served in the U.S. Army Special Forces and JAGC and was awarded the distinguished Legion of Merit for his service. He is an author of several books on law and ethics.
(6) comments
Instead of Mr. Cotchett lambasting the California senators for keeping the Government shut down, he tries to deflect the real disaster this country faces. He should have analyzed and submitted a resolution to the stalemate in DC, instead of crying over spilled milk. As usual, the Left has no solutions but takes cheap pot shots. Only a lawyer could write such a column that has no value whatever in todays context.
For the TLDR of these 650+ words, Mr. Cotchett is giving a pass to past presidents from both sides of the aisle who have made changes to the White House using both private and public money while attempting to claim it is only “orange man bad.” As such, I’d recommend folks ignore the hypocrisy from Mr. Cotchett. It is quite amusing to see the amount of time spent by Mr. Cotchett and like-minded Democrats on mental gymnastics to manufacture outrage at a Big Beautiful Ballroom costing no taxpayer money.
Meanwhile, even after efforts of activist judges acting like kings to place obstacles in the way, the Trump train rolls along… There have been over a dozen drug boats and a submarine smoked. Trump has ended multiple wars. Over 2 million invaders to our border have left the country, by choice or not. ICE has arrested almost 150 truck driver invaders. More than 7000 truck drivers are removed after failing the English test. Refugee inflow will be reduced to 7500 for 2026. And the list goes on. I can’t speak for anyone else but for me, I’m still not tired of winning as our (yes, our) great President Trump continues to Make America Great Again, Again.
And what is to stop him from destroying the rest of the White House or any other historic building? Absolutely nothing.
HFAB aka Chicken Little.
Absolutely right, Joe. Problem is that this guy believes in that political adage "ask for forgiveness, not permission," only he doesn't even contemplate forgiveness. He doesn't ever ask, he just takes. Decades ago I ran across people who believed that there were only "X number of real people in the world." Their concept was that a few hundred wealthy and powerful individuals were "people" and the rest of humanity were something less to be ignored and exploited. When you and I talk about the "people's house" we have a vastly different meaning than him and his wealthy benefactors. Sadly....
Thanks for your comment, Cambodia2, but your adage applies to Obama and Biden and Clinton not asking permission to collude in attempting to prevent our (yes, our) great President Trump to become the greatest President in your lifetime, twice. Your adage applies to not asking for permission to launch the sham kangaroo court known as the January 6 commission. Your adage applies to Biden not asking permission to initiate the “Arctic Frost” investigation into Trump and hundreds of individuals and corporations. And those are a few examples. It appears Democrats don’t ever ask – they just take. And if we stop and think about it, I'd say the people you ran across decades ago may have been talking about so-called Democrat leaders. Have a Trump-tastic day!
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