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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 226 points 10 months ago (45 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.

  • source
  • hideshow 45 child comments
  • [–] 186 points 10 months ago (19 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 19 child comments
  • [–] 117 points 10 months ago (11 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] 23 points 10 months ago (3 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 5 points 10 months 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    10 years doing it as President?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 13 points 10 months ago (4 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 13 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 41 points 10 months ago (14 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

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 14 child comments
  • [–] 26 points 10 months 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.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 12 child comments
  • [–] 21 points 10 months ago (11 children)

    I wonder what a demolition crew does if you don't pay them. Other tradies will typically just rip out their work, but it's not like a demo crew can easily rebuild something they tore down.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
  • [–] 7 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    Thats silly. Its a lot of extra work, and a crime.

    They would file a lien on the property.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    ...so they can get paid when the property is sold? Just when do you think that's going to happen?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (2 children)

    So the property that hasn't been sold in 200 years. That's the one you want to put a lien on? Would you like a shit sandwich to go with it so you at least get something?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • load more comments (1 reply)
  • [–] 33 points 10 months ago (1 child)

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

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 6 points 10 months ago

    Well you see there are still plenty construction contractors that happen to be republican.

    And the very fact they are republicans means they never think anything is real or possible until they personally experience it first hand.

    There is a bottomless barrel of idiots for trump to screw over because he hasn't personally fucked them all...yet

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 20 points 10 months ago (3 children)

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

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    For real? They didn’t pay the demo crew? Or os this speculation?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 9 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    I bet the "I bet" at the start of the statement was meant to indicate that it's not for real, just an example of one of the myriad things Trump has done over the years that might lead a contractor to be wary of taking on a job for him and which would be good rationale to avoid being next in line to be burned.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment