THE BALLROOM
"When the day turns into the last day of all time I can say I hope you are in these arms of mine, hmm-mm And when the night falls before that day, I will cry" - Prince, The Most Beautiful Girl
For just a moment it seemed like the “biggest and most beautiful ballroom in the history of the world” was not going to become a reality. And a few moments later it seemed like it would. At first a court ordered that it could not go ahead without the approval of Congress. Then, later in the day, the board that approves or disapproves the planning stage of any construction in Washington, D.C. said they could go ahead and plan away. Who do you think Trump will listen to? Duh!
In many ways he won’t listen to anyone. He demolished the East Wing of the White House - our house, a house in which he is only a tenant, entitled to stay during his time in office - without asking anyone’s permission. So, once he had a pile of rubble where there used to be a building, why wouldn’t he just start to build what he wants to build, which, as I said in the first sentence of this article is the “biggest and most beautiful ballroom in the history of the world.” Trump has this magical thinking way of turning everything into a competition which he wins. Who knew or who cares that he thinks there is a competition about the “most beautiful” and the “biggest” “ballroom? But of course, our childlike President does.
Construction time is estimated at three and one half years which, considering the legal delays, means Trump will be long out of the picture by the time it is finished. So imagine, if you will, what his magical thinking is doing when it comes to his tenure as President of the United States of America. Yes, “King for Life” is what he is thinking. Crazy, n’est ce pas? And yet, work proceeds. The image of the White House is iconic and represented the possibilities of America to most of the world and all of the citizens of the United States, the way the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the World Trade Center did. Terrorists blew down the World Trade Center and now our very own terrorist has destroyed that iconic image of the White House. If the ballroom is built it will dwarf what remains of the White House. Whatever harmony is represented by balanced architecture will be destroyed but Donald J. Trump will have left his imprint on the capital of the nation and that is what is most important to him.
The most interesting thing about the proposal for the ballroom is the “military complex” that will be built underneath it. Those plans are kind of vague and will probably remain so because they are “military” and therefore security is important. I think he plans to build a bunker so that when his term is over and it is time for the peaceful transfer of power that has always - until January 6, 2021, at least - been the hallmark of American democracy he will have a secure and well armored place to hide and refuse to leave. That is why he is in a hurry to get construction started. Like Hitler before him he imagines himself hidden away in his bunker, with a lifetime supply of Big Macs and fries, and endless Diet Coke, watching on television, surrounded by the most deluded of his small circle of boot lickers, as the army knocks on the door asking, with foolish politeness, for him to lay down his weapons and come quietly to face the justice he has so earnestly earned. Well, if he can dream so can I.