I’ve never seen the tent that they put up for large dinners at the White House … but I’m sure it’s tastefully designed and most importantly … The tent is temporary so when an event is over … the tent will be gone … This New Structure will be there 365 days a year whether or not it’s actually being used … I’m an Architect and I agree with Marianne … It’s to big … It overshadows the White House … and I think it’s a mistake … It’s simply a reflection of Trump’s Huge Ego !!!
Indeed, Marianne, this is, in part, the heartbreak of it all. However, it's been those misguided U.S. policies from the middle 1970s on, it seems, that has created this awful moment in what I hope is still American history!
Another vanity project like his stupid wall. The flag poles like the huge new building are both outsized. Trump has a fetish with size. His tiny fingers give US a clue why, but do not really tell US the entire story. How all the worst traits of humanity are represented in this one person, and people voted for him. Looking toward the day we can: Make America, America again!
The thing I find so sad and peculiar about this is that the East Wing characteristically houses the office of the First Lady.
So there is a tone of misogynistic disrespect for that office, and a dismissal of his own wife's role in affairs of the White House.
So much about this man is so unbearable to me that I can't afford to spend much time watching what he does. But the destruction of the East Wing of the White House in order to build a monument to his vast androcentric ego just seems painfully typical of him.
From a distance and a handful of pictures, the garden that was replanted by Melania doesn't seem so bad. But this seems and will look really bad. Completely inappropriate to that stately and storied old mansion.
Except Melania doesn’t care. She knows exactly why she married DJT and what her role was/is. She lives a separate life and spends most of her time elsewhere, primarily NYC.
“Melania has spent less than 14 days at the White House since Trump’s inauguration”
Hm. So you write "a dismissal of his own wife's role in affairs of the White House." Do you really consider her a 'wife' or a First Lady? I don't even like that term but certainly she could be called other names unsuitable herein.
Indeed, not synchronizing with the architectural style of the present White House is inappropriate. He destroys history by promoting garish affluence instead. No more words...
Don't discount the fact that La Donald is werry, werry mad at Mewania for refusing to utterly subsume her identity into his. And for becoming middle aged, which he also finds embarassing.
The White House wasn’t built to feed one person’s ego—it was built as a symbol of democratic leadership and shared power. Turning it into a palace-sized monument to grandiosity is exactly the kind of authoritarian move that erodes what America stands for. This isn’t just about architecture; it’s about rewriting history and shifting values away from humility and accountability toward spectacle and control. We have to fight back—not just with words, but with action—to preserve the soul of our democracy before it’s too late.
I don't think he's that sophisticated. I think he's going to fill it up every Saturday night with table tops and sell tickets. Rubber Chicken Dinner with the President?
It's sickening and insulting, like it's supposed to be. It's deliberate and deceitful. Ugh.
Well, I for one certainly wouldn’t call this even a teeny tiny bit sophisticated or grand and glorious, worthy of praise, in spite of the display of a grand piano, which likely has never been played by anyone. Instead, I would describe it as grotesque, grandiose, vulgar, hideous, ghastly…. Well, you get the idea. This empty shell of a creature desperately needs to surround himself with “trophies” to prove to the world how successful, how important, how powerful he is. Instead he reveals his flaws, his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities, his superficial persona.
Yet he’s managed to maneuver his way into our lives, our Whitehouse. How? Because of his decades-long relationship with an extremely ruthless, corrupt and evil man, Roy, Cohn, who taught trump everything he knows about acquiring and maintaining power and Cohn is celebrating from his grave.
“Roy Cohn taught Donald Trump the six rules of managing and dominating situations and people. These are those rules and you can see them being utilized to this very day by the man to brutal ends (this is excerpted from the book, The Last American President):”
1. Never apologize or admit wrongdoing, ever.
2. Always counter-attack, and always with greater force than you received.
3. Use the legal system as a weapon, not a recourse for justice.
Hm. I don't know if it's deceitful or even deliberate on his part. I truly think he just loves a golden palace, like the Hofburg's in Austria. He thinks it spells success, and he sees himself as a Monarch. So just sheer stupidity!
Marianne, excellent finish to another day in 'new Rome': "And unless we are willing to stand up for what matters, our very lives no longer do." This is so true!
It's so enervating these days so we must take breaks, come up for air, and try, try again! Thanks for your ongoing commitment and devotion to truth--our only way to recover from tyranny. Joan
Marianne, you name what so many feel but can’t yet articulate — that a structure’s dimensions are more than stone and steel; they are psychic boundaries on the human ego. The White House was meant to cradle service, not stage a coronation.
I’ve written often about how grandeur without grace warps the field we live in — how our collective psyche begins to mirror the architecture we stand beneath. When the space is swollen beyond humility, the spirit of the people is asked to carry that inflation. And history shows, we cannot carry it for long.
Thank you for naming this. In times like these, beauty must return to proportion, and power to its rightful size.
I’ve never seen the tent that they put up for large dinners at the White House … but I’m sure it’s tastefully designed and most importantly … The tent is temporary so when an event is over … the tent will be gone … This New Structure will be there 365 days a year whether or not it’s actually being used … I’m an Architect and I agree with Marianne … It’s to big … It overshadows the White House … and I think it’s a mistake … It’s simply a reflection of Trump’s Huge Ego !!!
He is disrespectful of true American values while trying to masquerade as a patriot.
And bringing millions of others into the charade with him. Good people most of them, who deserved and deserve so much more...
Indeed, Marianne, this is, in part, the heartbreak of it all. However, it's been those misguided U.S. policies from the middle 1970s on, it seems, that has created this awful moment in what I hope is still American history!
Birds of a feather flock together...
I have never forgotten Trevor Noah's bit about how he's seen Donald Trump's like before in Africa. He pretty much nailed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIHRrGHSaX0
Another vanity project like his stupid wall. The flag poles like the huge new building are both outsized. Trump has a fetish with size. His tiny fingers give US a clue why, but do not really tell US the entire story. How all the worst traits of humanity are represented in this one person, and people voted for him. Looking toward the day we can: Make America, America again!
The thing I find so sad and peculiar about this is that the East Wing characteristically houses the office of the First Lady.
So there is a tone of misogynistic disrespect for that office, and a dismissal of his own wife's role in affairs of the White House.
So much about this man is so unbearable to me that I can't afford to spend much time watching what he does. But the destruction of the East Wing of the White House in order to build a monument to his vast androcentric ego just seems painfully typical of him.
From a distance and a handful of pictures, the garden that was replanted by Melania doesn't seem so bad. But this seems and will look really bad. Completely inappropriate to that stately and storied old mansion.
Except Melania doesn’t care. She knows exactly why she married DJT and what her role was/is. She lives a separate life and spends most of her time elsewhere, primarily NYC.
“Melania has spent less than 14 days at the White House since Trump’s inauguration”
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/melania-trump-white-house-14-days-b2747133.html
Hm. So you write "a dismissal of his own wife's role in affairs of the White House." Do you really consider her a 'wife' or a First Lady? I don't even like that term but certainly she could be called other names unsuitable herein.
Indeed, not synchronizing with the architectural style of the present White House is inappropriate. He destroys history by promoting garish affluence instead. No more words...
Don't discount the fact that La Donald is werry, werry mad at Mewania for refusing to utterly subsume her identity into his. And for becoming middle aged, which he also finds embarassing.
Or, is the rendering in winter simply realistic of what is happening with him in office - the USA perpetually in a state of winter!
Or in a state of whitewash !
That, too. Perhaps even more so!
The White House wasn’t built to feed one person’s ego—it was built as a symbol of democratic leadership and shared power. Turning it into a palace-sized monument to grandiosity is exactly the kind of authoritarian move that erodes what America stands for. This isn’t just about architecture; it’s about rewriting history and shifting values away from humility and accountability toward spectacle and control. We have to fight back—not just with words, but with action—to preserve the soul of our democracy before it’s too late.
I don't think he's that sophisticated. I think he's going to fill it up every Saturday night with table tops and sell tickets. Rubber Chicken Dinner with the President?
It's sickening and insulting, like it's supposed to be. It's deliberate and deceitful. Ugh.
Well, I for one certainly wouldn’t call this even a teeny tiny bit sophisticated or grand and glorious, worthy of praise, in spite of the display of a grand piano, which likely has never been played by anyone. Instead, I would describe it as grotesque, grandiose, vulgar, hideous, ghastly…. Well, you get the idea. This empty shell of a creature desperately needs to surround himself with “trophies” to prove to the world how successful, how important, how powerful he is. Instead he reveals his flaws, his weaknesses, his vulnerabilities, his superficial persona.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/donald-melanias-odd-piano-pic-is-stranger-than-kimberly-guilfoyle-gavin-newsoms-rug-photo/ar-AA1tib9s?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
Yet he’s managed to maneuver his way into our lives, our Whitehouse. How? Because of his decades-long relationship with an extremely ruthless, corrupt and evil man, Roy, Cohn, who taught trump everything he knows about acquiring and maintaining power and Cohn is celebrating from his grave.
“Roy Cohn taught Donald Trump the six rules of managing and dominating situations and people. These are those rules and you can see them being utilized to this very day by the man to brutal ends (this is excerpted from the book, The Last American President):”
1. Never apologize or admit wrongdoing, ever.
2. Always counter-attack, and always with greater force than you received.
3. Use the legal system as a weapon, not a recourse for justice.
4. Manipulate the media ruthlessly.
5. Use fear as both shield and sword.
6. Build a fortress of loyalty around yourself.
https://ideas.bkconnection.com/the-five-lessons-roy-cohn-taught-donald-trump-that-guide-him-to-this-day
Methinks we’re in trouble, folks.
Hm. I don't know if it's deceitful or even deliberate on his part. I truly think he just loves a golden palace, like the Hofburg's in Austria. He thinks it spells success, and he sees himself as a Monarch. So just sheer stupidity!
For sure, we are not dealing with a deep thinker here. He likes big, gold things.
The emporer, indeed, has no clothes. Who will tell him? More important: will he hear?
He will not hear--he's hard of hearing already:)!
Marianne, excellent finish to another day in 'new Rome': "And unless we are willing to stand up for what matters, our very lives no longer do." This is so true!
It's so enervating these days so we must take breaks, come up for air, and try, try again! Thanks for your ongoing commitment and devotion to truth--our only way to recover from tyranny. Joan
White House renovations are not new and are actually quite interesting to look at over the course of history:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/white-house-renovations-timeline
Renovations, of course! That's very different from adding what is basically a conference center to the side of the building.
PS Our Whitehouse also has an amazing gift shop! Fantastic stuff.
Marianne, you name what so many feel but can’t yet articulate — that a structure’s dimensions are more than stone and steel; they are psychic boundaries on the human ego. The White House was meant to cradle service, not stage a coronation.
I’ve written often about how grandeur without grace warps the field we live in — how our collective psyche begins to mirror the architecture we stand beneath. When the space is swollen beyond humility, the spirit of the people is asked to carry that inflation. And history shows, we cannot carry it for long.
Thank you for naming this. In times like these, beauty must return to proportion, and power to its rightful size.
Turning the White House into the Kremlin.