White House didn't need Trump's Mar-a-Lago makeover
By Nia-Malika Henderson / Bloomberg Opinion
Call it the billionaires’ ballroom.
This week, President Donald Trump began demolishing part of the East Wing of the White House to construct a $250 million entertainment venue bankrolled by some of the world’s deepest pockets. The pictures of a digger tearing into the White House are nothing less than shocking, a symbol of Trump’s disregard for American institutions and values; and his embrace of a new Gilded Age.
At some 90,000 square feet, the lavish ballroom is nearly double the size of the main complex, which is 55,000 square feet. The White House press office called it a “grand ballroom — a transformative addition that will significantly increase the White House’s capacity to host major functions honoring world leaders, foreign nations and other dignitaries.”
Somehow, other presidents have managed to host and honor foreign leaders and dignitaries just fine for all these many years. President Ronald Reagan and actor John Travolta danced with Princess Diana in November 1985 in the White House’s entrance hall. It was epic and iconic and very American. Large state dinners have often been held in tents on the White House lawn. And they have been fabulous and elegant affairs. President Jimmy Carter feted President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel in March 1979 for a state dinner that included 1,340 guests to mark the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty.
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