this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025
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Trump can't focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House. The move, he claims, will clear the way for a ballroom for holding large events that are typically held in tents on the South Lawn. A debate immediately arose online over whether or not the next Democratic president should tear down the ballroom or keep it, albeit with the necessary extensive renovations to remove all the tackiness Trump brings to any project.

Two months later, it increasingly seems that such discussion was a wasted effort, as the chance this ballroom will actually be built is rapidly disappearing. Perhaps it could have if Trump had delegated the management of the project to someone competent, but that’s not what he did. Instead, the famously lazy and disorganized president decided to blow off his actual governance duties in favor of micromanaging a construction project he is incapable of handling. Finishing the ballroom in the next three years would be difficult for anyone, but it’s quickly becoming clear it will be nearly impossible for the famed real estate tycoon to pull it off.

The whole thing is a too-perfect symbol of Trump’s second administration: They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

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[–] ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 32 points 3 hours ago

Trump has a track record of not paying people. Even court records to prove it. Blows my mind the demo team agreed to do this and now they’re not getting paid. No money, no worky

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 21 points 3 hours ago (5 children)
[–] fizzle@quokk.au 4 points 48 minutes ago

LOL.

If you wanted a secret underground-anything why would you put it under the freakin whitehouse?

... and of all things a data centre, which would work the same if it were under sydney harbour, or you know... not underground at all, or well... just any of hundreds of existing data centres.

[–] Lightfire228@pawb.social 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

This reads as way too competent a plan and scheme for Trump's admin.

I can't decide which is scarier, that Trump's admin is so incompetent they can't build a ballroom, or competent enough to plan and build a project like this while hiding it from the public

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 hour ago

Too competent for Trump, absolutely. But there are some pretty scary competent people behind him, whispering in his ear. As the video details, the people he's hired to work on his "ballroom", also happen to be some of the world's leading experts on building super secure, military grade data centers. There's not a lot of overlap between those things, so it's hard to imagine that it's just a random coincidence.

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago

Fascinating read, thanks for that.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Not sure why she shoehorned crypto in there.

[–] Archangel1313@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 hour ago

Because data centers also make great crypto mines. And guess who's currently trying to build their very own crypto empire?

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Good luck getting hardware in this market

[–] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

You can buy anything with a bottomless pocketbook

[–] FreshParsnip@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

So he vandalized the Whitehouse for nothing?

[–] minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world 6 points 2 hours ago

They're building a new Fuhrerbunker for Vance and the next one. Trump doesn't even know.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Nah he'll build it, he said he finds this kind of work soothing. The world can burn down and he'll be happy as a clam in his old real estate ways and gold trim. This is what he wants to be remembered for, fancy buildings.

[–] Bonifratz@piefed.zip 86 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

The fact that Trump just randomly tore down part of the White House still makes me laugh.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 8 points 3 hours ago

True patriot.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 26 points 5 hours ago

Wait until you see the shit stains on the constitution.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 145 points 8 hours ago (8 children)

I bet they can't get any contractor to work on that, because the Administration has already stiffed the demolition crew and nobody wants to touch a job they will never get paid for.

[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 18 points 4 hours ago

That asshole hasnt paid any bills in decades, i cant believe anyone is still dumb enough to accept a job for this conman.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 12 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Also, you try finding a construction crew on the east coast he hasn't personally stiffed already

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe he can order the army corps of engineers to do it.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago

Instructions unclear they installed a dam

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 128 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

You need to remember just how stupid some of his base is. There are pickme's out there who will 100% jump at the chance and think surely Trump won't stiff them.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 82 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (3 children)

I'm actually amazed how he keeps finding new suckers after decades of doing it in the private sector and almost 10 years of doing it as President. The only ones that really came out ahead are the criminals that bought their pardons. Everyone else gets screwed one way or another.

[–] ArmchairAce1944@discuss.online 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Same here. Even back in 2010 and 2011 when I first started to look him up I was surprised that anyone could have trusted him or taken him seriously once the 90s rolled around. He should have been remembered as that conman from the 80s who is barely hanging onto life financially today.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

He was always that shadey “businessman”, but that stupid reality show really put him back in the spotlight.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

A lot of the work is shoddy. The businesses doing the work have some kind of quid pro quo. Financing is involved, so the real bag holders will be lenders pitched a job they can never collect on.

There's a lot of different ways to pass the bill around in the modern economy, such that landing a $300M job on-paper can be leveraged to cheat and swindle people down the line.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

10 years doing it as President?

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

He announced his intentions in 2015, so it's a cromulent statement.

[–] Sculptor9157@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 hours ago

Not to mention his whining overshadowed anything Biden had going on administratively. This, it's been about about that idiot for a decade...and is still ongoing.

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 12 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

On a personal level sure, but this isn't a job for a random one man operation.

At the top level you need a business and as much as business leaders love Trump (who doesn't love a useful idiot) they would never risk their bottom line for it.

All that and the fact that you would likely need a whole bunch of credentials to be building parts of the white house, or at least you likely used to.

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 hours ago

Actually on second thought I'm an idiot.

If he actually builds that stupid ballroom he would have to pay for it. Much easier to just take the donations and leave a hole in the ground.

How could I not see such an obvious grift.

[–] somethingsnappy@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours ago

He'll just hire a Russian firm. No security issues there.

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[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 33 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

I bet they can't get any contractor to work on that, because the Administration has already stiffed the demolition crew

I wanted this to be true... https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-east-wing-demolition-congress/?collection=471833 Unfortunately it's not

[–] half_built_pyramids@lemmy.world 20 points 8 hours ago (12 children)

Wow, when did snopes become an absolutely adfucked shithole. Besides, as far as I can tell that article is focused on Congress stopping the payments being false, not whether or not they've actually been paid, which wasn't clear to me.

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[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 20 points 6 hours ago

Not unexpected. He handed all kinds of government jobs to the terminally incompetent.

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 38 points 8 hours ago

Man who failed at casinos unable to build ballroom. Who could have forseen this!?!?!

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 28 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Trump can’t focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

Didn't it start out under $100 million?

[–] Sumocat@lemmy.world 47 points 8 hours ago (6 children)

It started at $200M and as “not affecting the existing structure” and will end as a $900M donation to the Trump presidential library, which will also not be built.

[–] D_C@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago

Oh, wow, really? Now I do wonder where all that money will end up...? Hmmm, I bet he will just return it and definitely not pocket it! Oh, no.

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[–] cAUzapNEAGLb@lemmy.world 13 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I think there's a pretty good argument laid out in this video that the ballroom is a literal cover for a bunkered database

https://youtu.be/VbJ4ilDvGyc

[–] altasshet@lemmy.ca 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Can't watch the video now, but why build it next to the white house instead of literally anywhere else?

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

Executive privilege, potentially.

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