QOTD -- Trump's Gilded Ballroom/Bunker And Press Freedom

 

Journalist David Rothkopf, in his "Need to Know" Substack, gives one of his five uncomfortable truths about Saturday night's events at the WHCA dinner:

"...[I]n one of the strangest twists in a very strange Saturday night in DC, Trump during and since his post-foiled-alleged-attack press conference and celebration of his own courage, suggested that the attack actually made building his monstrosity of a White House ballroom more urgent. His implication was that the only place he, as president, could be safe was in a fortified facility on the White House grounds. While this is an implicit attack on the competence of the Secret Service that has been defending presidents as they have traveled far and wide for decades…and while it minimized Trump’s own role in fostering the dangerous atmosphere in the US from which he would like to hide in his gilded bunker…it also reflects Trump’s twisted view of the world, the presidency, and of press freedom. This is another instance in which Trump illustrated his desire to be a king in the castle rather than a servant of all Americans living in 'the people’s house.' He wouldn’t have done well in the 19^th Century when people could just wander up to and into the White House to call on the president without appointment. But it also suggests his authoritarian impulse to want to control all exposure to him. He wants events on his turf and terms. Never mind that the whole idea of the White House Correspondents dinner was that the 'fourth estate,' independent of the government, was hosting its own event to which the U.S. head of state might or might not be invited, that is was an event for and of the journalists who covered Washington. Never mind that it was a private function to which he was invited. With his orchestration of media take-overs by MAGA-loving oligarchs and his assaults on press freedom including his evisceration of the White House press corps and control of White House press events so that only shills are allowed to pose questions, Trump has demonstrated that he does not believe in the 'transparency' and 'freedom of speech' to which he mouthed lame tributes late on Saturday evening. Trump’s view of the presidency is that of a robber-baron or vulture capitalist who has conducted a take-over of the United States. His sense is that this is his country now, he owns it, he controls it, he deserves a cut of it and the government should support him and defend him in each of those desires and all of his activities..." 

It's now manifestly clear that the most important thing to the Malignant Fascist right now is building that Golden Ballroom/bunker that he obsesses about, perhaps to relieve his soggy brain of bad thoughts about the Epstein-Trump files, the Iran fiasco, tariffs and the soaring cost of living, etc.  His faithful legion of spineless lickspittles now wants to stick the majority of the cost of the Golden Ballroom ($332 million) on American taxpayers, after the Malignant Fascist promised it would be built with private donations extortion money from his pet oligarchs and cowering corporations.  The only promise we want to see followed through on -- and a litmus test for any future Democratic presidential candidate -- is the demolition of any ballroom, triumphal arch, and/or facade that the Malignant Fascist orders built or puts his name on.