President Trump’s ever-growing vision has caused tension with contractors (as usual). His architect has taken a step back as the president personally manages a project twice the size, and even taller than the White House itself.
It’s a shopping mall wing, complete with movie-multiplex and likely a gift shop.
IT’S A DAMN BIG-BOX ANCHOR STORE WITH FAUX NEOCLASSICAL FACADE, SOMETHING EVEN MUSSOLINI MANAGED TO AVOID!
Not exactly in the spirit of Nixon’s imperial guard uniforms, Carter’s solar panels, Nancy Reagan’s dishware, or even Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden. Trump whined about ladies shoes getting stuck in the Rose Garden lawn, flag poles not sufficiently like those in front of car dealerships, and last but not least not understanding why the ruling class puts up tents for large scale receptions. Donald Trump’s coffee-table book of his ‘developer’ projects will remain a chronicle of a ‘bridge-and-tunnel crowd’ delusion of what cosmopolitan architecture looks like, because suburban civic centers are invariably shopping malls. Trump loves country clubs that no self-respecting member of the ruling class would find a live girl or dead boy in.
GOD-FEARING SHOPPING MALLS
Mr. McCrery’s work has been embraced by conservatives who believe federal buildings should be designed with an eye toward the grandeur of ancient Greek and Roman structures. He often talks of how his design work is carried out in service of God and the church, according to people who have worked with him.
It might have seemed an odd pairing: a man who designs cathedrals working for a man who once built casinos, and is now president of the United States.
But McCrery Architects got to work on the initial drawings for the project, sketching out a design with high ceilings and arched windows reminiscent of Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors. It would have the latest security features, including bulletproof glass. Gold furniture, known to please the president, was added to the renderings.
It was flashy enough to impress a man of Mr. Trump’s tastes, while largely matching the style of the historic White House without overshadowing it.
That’s when things got tricky.
In offering up his initial design, Mr. McCrery could not have known that Mr. Trump’s vision for the project was growing. What started as a 500-seat ballroom connected to the East Wing grew to 650 seats. Next, he wanted a 999-seat ballroom, then room for 1,350. Even as Mr. Trump assured the public in July that the ballroom would not touch the existing structure, he already had approved plans to demolish the East Wing to make way for something that could hold several thousand people, according to three people familiar with the timeline.
The latest plan, which officials said was still preliminary, calls for a ballroom much larger than the West Wing and the Executive Mansion. Mr. Trump has said publicly that he would like a ballroom big enough to hold a crowd for a presidential inauguration.
www.nytimes.com/...
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Trump destroys everything he touches. Will Scharf, Trump’s former personal lawyer, is the chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission. Scharf said there was no need to review Trump’s plans before the demolition of the East Wing. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/u...
— Boomer (@boomer1956.bsky.social) 2025-11-29T11:26:58.638Z
He’s gonna need another First Lady.
If Trump Deports Naturalized American Citizens, will it enable him to cut Melania out of any Pre-Nups?
