Asiren
Steve HermanWaPo - Demolition crews are tearing down part of the White House to build President Trump’s ballroom despite his pledge that construction wouldn’t “interfere” with the existing building. https://wapo.st/4hqBNiU
When I covered the White House, National Park Service staff were so protective of the grounds they’d admonish journalists who stepped on the wood chips between the North Lawn driveway and the press tents.
Zeke 🇨🇦@w7voa Were the journalists who had to be admonished aware of their transgressions? Was there signage?
Chris Tarczon@mediocratese @w7voa Not sure what you’re getting at unless you think there should have been signs saying “DO NOT BUILD MASSIVE DISGRACEFUL EYESORE HERE”
Frances Perkins was right@w7voa I guess they’ve been furloughed…
Tinker ☀️
Joel Klebanoff 🇨🇦@w7voa He's a king. Trump is embarrassed about not having a proper castle like other kings.
ClickyMcTicker@w7voa Government teardown in the middle of a government shutdown. Where did he find the money 🤔
Comrade Weez@w7voa next a surprise de-gilting of the Oval Office
Michael Slade
Tirrimas 
🚫👑@w7voa oh my God. I heard about this earlier, but seeing it is a gut punch
LR@michaelslade @w7voa who's going to tell him?
@michaelslade @w7voa then why the ballroom?
mastodonphan HAS MOVED@w7voa So when he dies and fascism is defeated, we'll tear down the entire house, rebuild it and call it The People's House, right?
John Q McDonald@w7voa Remember that time in the 80s a US Embassy building was so riddled with surveillance equipment that it had to be demolished before it was ever occupied? Yeah, I’m seeing something like this in the future…
sb arms & legs
spaduf
Steff 🏳️⚧️ 🏳️🌈@w7voa When real life and metaphor collide
We the People...@w7voa That fucking bastard. The White House belongs to us, not him.
Vexatious Vegetable@w7voa I smell the need for another demolition crew already.
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey@w7voa Donald has never in his life stopped lying, not for an instant.
mattlqx
One Dude. Opinions. All Mine.
Bernd Petrovitsch🔴🔴🔴♂️🏳️🌈🇦🇹🇪🇺@w7voa the orange 🤡 talks a lot on a long day ...
Sablebadger@w7voa when has he honored any pledge... Ever.
Richard K 
Luna chan@crazyjaneway @w7voa We can rebuild it and I want to job of tearing down the ballroom.
Arthur van der Harg@w7voa The White House embodies much of the history of the United States after independence. This new wing will be part of that history. A reminder of the time when America went fascist, like Berlin’s 1936 Olympic stadium. Make it a museum. A hall of shame with Trump’s name on it and the motto “Never Again (Again)!”, to remind Americans of what happens when you let base instincts run loose.
Burning Joint USAI hope that is an demolition guy gone rogue and he just tears down the entire building with Trump, Vance, Miller, Hegseth and their guest Netanyahu being buried in the rubble. lolololol. Fuck it up guy. Make history while you can.
VulcanTouristCAN YOU IMAGINE anyone agreeing to demolish part of the White House for pay? Who would even agree to that? A person with that state of mind might be more dangerous than Trump.
DrYak@VulcanTourist > Who would even agree to that?
A starving worker(*) from a very low-income class who *must* find a way to feed his family in the current situation.
Under the threat of ICE deportation (to a country whose language the worker's grand-father was the last one able to speak).
(*): and that's assuming it's an actual paid worker and not prison labor, for even cheaper costs to the contractor.
You could be right, but we don't know who was hired, so both our scenarios are speculative. I allowed speculation to veer into presumption, and I should have avoided that.
@VulcanTourist Though you're right about the dangerosity of the situation:
a workforce desperate and/or pressured into doing this demolition could also be desperate and/or pressured into, e.g., "putting this small black box in there before pouring the concrete and not ask too many questions about it, or otherwise" by somebody with a funny accent.
a workforce desperate and/or pressured into doing this demolition could also be desperate and/or pressured into, e.g., "putting this small black box in there before pouring the concrete and not ask too many questions about it, or otherwise" by somebody with a funny accent.
There's another argument for my scenario: this is Trump's megalomaniacal gilded wet dream at issue, and Trump is a misogynistic racist. Would he hire anyone but skilled white males, and likely MAGA faithful, for this work toward his egotistical dream? Would he trust it to "immigrants"? A MAGA contractor would do it for free just for the bragging rights.
Pier Hegeman@dryak @VulcanTourist Also clearly someone who doesn’t know that Trump never pays his contractors.
Dave VolekHas anyone noticed a Swedish machine is knocking the building down?
Michael Argentini@w7voa it’s not like the building has any historical significance oh wait.
Flipturns 🏊♀️ 📷 🦋This is unforgivable. It feels like Trump has done an assault on us people that is personal. He is a tyrant. And unhinged! And still, he remains in office....
Doug 🌈🇨🇦 
sherlock homeless@w7voa I don't think Trump has such a big balls that he needs special room for them ;-)
Timothy Swan@w7voa This is a real “Let them eat cake” moment. Government is shut down, no SNAP benefits for the neediest for next month, but Trump is building a ballroom, redoing the Lincoln bedroom bathroom and, possibly, building an arch? He is really just the Real Estate Developer in Chief.
H0nk
Sir Anders@w7voa Most cosily that a SWEDISH exavator is being used here - I guess America First does not apply to the president..