Tying Together Thoughts on the Trump Ballroom and Proposition 50

You cannot view any news site without hearing the bemoaning of President Donald Trump’s order to demolish the East Wing of the White House and replace it with a grand ballroom. Among the complaints about the project is that rich donors and corporations are helping to pay for the $300-million ballroom. The supposition is that they will seek favors from the administration.

Most assuredly.

In California, millions of dollars are flowing into the campaign to pass Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting plan to solidify Democratic representation in Congress and suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission. Much of the supportive millions comes from labor unions who annually push their Democratic friends in the legislature and administration to support their priorities.

The labor unions influence will be exerted mainly around budget issues. California faced a $12 billion budget deficit at the beginning of the year and is looking at future budget deficits. Note that many of the bills Gov. Newsom vetoed this last month came with the excuse that California didn’t have the money. That is not music to the unions’ ears.

The unions will undoubtedly use their support of Proposition 50 in next year’s budget deliberations. To strengthen their hand in the coming debate over taxes, some unions filed a ballot initiative to create a wealth tax on California billionaires to collect $100 billion over the next five years. Beyond the billionaires directly affected, the business community will raise fears over the proposal, arguing that the tax will affect innovation and stymie the economy. Governor Newsom quickly rejected the idea of the wealth tax initiative proposal. That will bring the unions focus on seeking a tax increase in the legislature reminding the Democratic legislators and governor that they came to the aid of Prop. 50.

Back to the White House ballroom. There is reason to fume against Trump’s method, bull rushing his ballroom into being without input from architectural and preservation experts. It is another example of Trump’s untethered, unchecked, all-powerful attitude which goes beyond the bounds of traditional governance in a democratic framework.

Yet considering the ballroom as a structural improvement, this doesn’t mean that the addition will not benefit the Executive Mansion. Changes in the architecture have occurred many times since it was built in the 1790s. A comfortable ballroom can serve as a meeting place for serious policy and/or diplomatic negotiations, meetings with heads of state, state dinners or even concerts. Over the years, the White House has hosted many musical tributes going back to the Marine Band playing for President John Adams a couple of months after he moved in to the new White House. President John F. Kennedy is credited with bringing many arts and music performances to the White House.

Speaking of Kennedy, he hosted one of the memorable gatherings at the White House when he brought together 49 winners of the Nobel Prize from the Western Hemisphere and produced one of his most witty quotes: “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” I suspect Kennedy would have enjoyed the larger surroundings with room to host audiences for lectures and performances.

Trump should be more inclusive and less autocratic in plunging ahead on his ballroom planning including its scale. He has often been described as a transactional president and opening the door to rich donors can lead to all manner of deals.

Trump is destroying the East Wing and getting money from donors who seek influence. Proposition 50 is destroying a democratic institution established by the voters of California and likewise receiving money from donors who seek influence.

The advantage for the Trump action is that I suspect, with the passage of time, the ballroom will be considered a positive addition to the property.