All posts tagged "white house"

Trump's favorite CNN pundit gets shut down in exchange over White House ballroom

One of President Donald Trump's most consistent defenders on CNN was recently confronted over his celebration of Trump's bulldozing of the East Wing of the White House.

During the Friday episode of CNN host Kaitlan Collins' show "The Source," Collins discussed the lawsuit filed by a nonprofit group seeking to halt construction of Trump's proposed new $300 million ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States alleged that the Trump administration illegally shut the public out of the process typically afforded to them when historic buildings undergo significant renovations.

"President Trump’s efforts to do so should be immediately halted, and work on the Ballroom Project should be paused until the Defendants complete the required reviews—reviews that should have taken place before the Defendants demolished the East Wing, and before they began construction of the Ballroom — and secure the necessary approvals," the lawsuit read.

In the panel discussion featuring legal analyst Elie Honig, former Obama administration official Van Jones and pro-Trump pundit Scott Jennings, (who joined Trump onstage at a 2024 campaign rally) the conservative commentator quipped that the group suing Trump over the destruction of the East Wing should feel free to "come over to the White House and pick through the rubble and try to rebuild it," and asserted that "before [Trump] leaves office, that [ballroom] is going to be sitting there legally and procedurally."

"I don't know how it's all going to play out. The man intends to build a ballroom, and I don't know what everybody has against it," Jennings said. "The existing structure was not big enough for what the president needs to do ... When he had his inaugural in the extreme cold in January, they had to do it in the [U.S. Capitol] rotunda! They could have easily done that in something like this. This is a positive thing that he is trying to do for the White House. So how's the paperwork going to go? I don't know, but I promise you they'll be a ballroom sitting there when he leaves office."

At that point, Van Jones interjected and told Jennings that regardless of how much he supports the ballroom, presidents aren't allowed to disregard rules they dislike.

"What we often hear from our Republican friends is, 'I like the outcome, so the process doesn't matter.' That's what happens in an authoritarian country. That's what happens with a dictatorship," Jones said. "It turns out the process does matter in a democracy, rules matter."

"And what if you want to make America great again? How did America get great in the first place? Rule of law. Free markets. Everybody welcome, if you follow the rules. If you have a lawless country, meaning the executive branch does whatever it wants to, you're on the path to being a banana republic," he added. "So ... maybe this big golden ball thing with golden toilets, I have no idea what he's doing. Maybe people will like it, but if it's that great, why not follow the follow the rules?"

Watch the segment below:

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Trump hit with demand to 'immediately halt' glitzy ballroom makeover

President Donald Trump has given a significant amount of attention during his second term to the construction of a massive ballroom at the White House, but now, per a report from NBC News, a new lawsuit might see the project "immediately halted."

To make way for the ballroom, Trump directed that the entire East Wing of the White House, first built in 1902, be demolished. Images of the demolition being torn down sparked significant controversy about the destruction of a historic portion of the building, as well as attempts at legal pushback against the project.

On Friday morning, the nonprofit organization National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that Trump was not legally allowed to alter portions of the White House so abruptly and with no review process. The suit called for the continuing construction project to be halted by a federal judge until certain conditions are met.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever—not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the suit argued. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in."

As part of the lawsuit, the trust's attorneys argued that the Trump administration must have presented plans for the ballroom to Congress, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts for approval. Plans were not submitted to any of these entities before the demolition began.

By doing so, the administration is accused of "depriving the public of its right to be informed and its opportunity to comment" on the ballroom project.

"This public involvement, while important in all preservation matters, is particularly critical here, where the structure at issue is perhaps the most recognizable and historically significant building in the country," the lawsuit added.

Trump has most recently estimated that the construction of the ballroom will take a year and a half to complete. He has also claimed without evidence that previous administrations have wanted to add a White House ballroom for at least 150 years.

'Playing make-believe': Analysis tears into White House's 'demonstrably ridiculous' claims

Lisandra Vazquez, an Atlanta-based comedian, has gone viral with her frequent parodies of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — who sees the MAGA Republican as a caricature of herself and mocks her relentlessly with her videos on YouTube and TikTok. And Vazquez isn't the only one with that opinion of Leavitt.

In a biting opinion column published on Friday, MS NOW's Steve Benen emphasizes that Leavitt's obsequious praise of President Donald Trump is only growing more cartoonish and divorced from reality.

"Earlier this week," Benen observes, "White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that China had refused to purchase American soybeans during Joe Biden's presidency because Chinese leaders 'had no respect for our president, Biden, or for the country at the time.' Thankfully, she added, Donald Trump has turned things around. As White House lies go, this one was odd — and rather lazy. It didn't take a lot of Googling to learn that Chinese purchases of American soybeans during the Biden era were quite robust."

Benen adds, "Beijing stopped buying the products, however, earlier this year in response to Trump's trade tariffs. It was a timely reminder that, in service of the president's political agenda, Leavitt isn't just willing to spin and exaggerate, she's also willing to turn reality on its head."

Leavitt's claims were also "demonstrably ridiculous," according to Benen, when she claimed that "every economic metric" shows the "economy is improving" under Trump — and that "inflation is down" thanks to him.

"When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins dared to remind the White House press secretary that grocery prices have climbed," Benen observes, "Leavitt accused her of deliberately pushing 'untrue narratives,' despite the fact that grocery prices really have climbed….

As Americans turn sharply against Trump's handing of the economy, the president and his team have other options, but they appear determined to keep playing make-believe, hoping the repetition of nonsense will bully reality into submission."

Benen adds, "Trump's approval rating suggests Leavitt and her colleagues might need a Plan B."

Steve Benen's full MS NOW column is available at this link.

White House quickly deletes 'blacklist' of journalists

The White House appears to have tweeted then deleted a “Naughty List” of journalists, including top news reporters and outlets, in an act that is being described as “positively authoritarian” by one legal expert.

The video was posted to X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and the White House’s own website, which reads: “MEDIA OFFENDERS ON THE NAUGHTY LIST,” and “Video unavailable. This video has been removed by the uploader.”

A Google search of the White House’s page shows a video thumbnail consistent with the videos captured by several social media influencers.

The video includes a Santa Claus chortling “ho ho ho,” and unrolling a scroll titled “Naughty List” that includes MS NOW reporters Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian, CNN’s Jake Tapper, and reporters from CBS News, Axios, and The Bulwark. The background music is “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

The video closes with the message, “Better luck next year,” then the screen reads:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump

An AI generated trending page on X reads: “The 34-second clip, posted Thursday evening, showed photos of journalists pinned to a wall alongside names like The New York Times and The Washington Post. It disappeared from the official account within hours amid backlash comparing it to authoritarian blacklists. Supporters laughed it off as holiday humor, while the White House site already tracks similar outlets in an ‘Offender Hall of Shame’ for alleged bias. The episode highlighted ongoing tensions over media coverage during the Trump administration.”

“This is a blacklist,” wrote social media influencer The Maine Wonk, saying the video was “quickly deleted…after getting serious backlash.”

“This isn’t a joke. It’s a blacklist,” warned another influencer, Brian Allen. “Authoritarians always start by mocking the press… then labeling them… then listing them. We’re now on step two. History has seen this movie before and it never ends well.”

The Bulwark’s Tim Miller offered “Huge congrats” to one of the outlet’s reporters who appeared on the list, Adrian Carrasquillo, and commented, “(ooh we are really quaking in our boots on that one nerds).”

Professor of Law, MSNOW legal analyst, and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance commented on the video, writing, “How positively…authoritarian.”

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GOP is ‘desperate' for Trump to 'wake up' — and realize 'he's got a problem': expert

A political analyst said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has undermined Republicans' message on the economy.

Brendan Buck, MS NOW political analyst, said that Republicans are increasingly worried about maintaining hold of political power, especially in swing states.

"I mean, the economy is not the only issue in politics, but it is the most important issue in every election," Buck said. "And Republicans understand that. And I think they're probably pretty desperate for the president to wake up and realize that, that he's got a problem."

Republicans have signaled that if they can't address affordability and economic woes, then they could lose control of the House majority.

"Look, most of these guys, you know, don't need to worry about a general election. But if you are not focused on the number one issue that people care about, you're going to be in trouble. That's what Marjorie Taylor Greene, of all people, has recognized and has been waving this flag," Buck said. "We are going to be in the minority in the House unless we have an answer to this issue. And if the president is not even aware that this is a problem, if he's telling you the economy is a plus plus, plus, you're just talking way past people."

Trump's message that the economy is booming has struck a nerve among voters who see otherwise — and Republican lawmakers fighting to maintain hold of their seats — but they can't count on Trump to course correct that, Buck explained.

"This is the problem, when he goes in these rallies, people are cheering for him. He gets feedback that this is all good stuff. This is great. We don't need to change anything," Buck said. "Meanwhile, your battleground members are desperate for a solution. Anything that they can hang their hat on, and they're just not going to come from the White House."

Eye-popping DC pipe bomber revelations 'awkward and embarrassing' for Trump: analyst

Revelations surrounding the Washington, D.C. pipe bomb suspect have become humiliating for the Trump administration, a security analyst said Friday.

Bradley Moss, a national security analyst, told CNN that the White House now has to manage the fallout after 30-year-old suspect Brian Cole Jr. told law enforcement that he believed that the 2020 election was “stolen." The claim was one that President Donald Trump had made and led to the Capitol mob attack on Jan. 6, just a few hours after the pipe bombs were placed outside the Republican and Democratic party headquarters.

"We're learning some rather awkward and embarrassing things for the White House and for, honestly, some of the senior members of the Justice Department and the FBI, because this defeated all of the theories, all the conspiracies for the last four years about who this particular pipe bomber could have been," Moss said.

It could become a bigger problem for the Justice Department.

"Assuming, of course, this person is actually proven in a court of law to have been that person. All the theories that the Trump team, that Dan Bongino, that Kash Patel, everybody was saying was this was an inside job, this was somebody at the bureau, this was someone from the Capitol police. They had always made it out to be that this was some kind of insider gig," Moss added. "What is it? It's just a regular guy who believed Donald Trump's conspiracies about 2020 and who allegedly took this action."

Moss argued that the claim made by Trump and his followers appeared to be a motive for the suspect.

"How embarrassing that these are the individuals now who have to bring these charges and prove this case in court," Moss said.

Cole did not enter a plea at his first hearing on Friday morning in federal court. He was expected to have another one in a few weeks. The investigation was ongoing.

Trump gives his own White House ballroom architect the boot after clashes: report

President Donald Trump fired his own ballroom architect after clashing with an architect over expanding the project.

The boutique architecture firm led by James McCrery II was reportedly replaced after three months when questions surfaced over whether the group could manage the large-scale plan, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

"It is unclear whether McCrery stepped back voluntarily, but the men parted on good terms and remain so, according to one of the people familiar with the project, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations," The Post reported.

Trump apparently wanted to increase the size and scope of the project, "but it was McCrery’s firm’s small workforce and inability to hit deadlines that became the decisive factor in him leaving," a source told the outlet.

The president has decided that architect Shalom Baranes will take over the job. Baranes' design firm has designed and renovated government buildings in Washington, D.C. for decades and has taken on projects that include the main Treasury building near the White House and the General Services Administration headquarters.

The $300 million ballroom is one of the largest renovations expected at the White House and follows the demolition of the East Wing, the historic corridor and location of the former first lady's office. Trump has also signaled plans to renovate the National Mall.

'Unbelievable': Trump under seige over pricey fixation while cost of living spikes

The White House reportedly will be submitting plans for President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom to a federal planning commission later this month, after the East Wing of the White House has already been demolished and as the president replaces the project’s top architect.

“The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will dwarf the White House itself, at nearly double the size, and President Donald Trump has said it will accommodate 999 people,” the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Critics blasted the latest news.

“Let me get this straight,” wrote U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), in response to the news. “Trump has a plan for a new ballroom, but barely has a concept of a plan to lower the cost of health care?”

“Millions are losing health care, but hey, a ballroom! Unbelievable,” declared U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA).

“It seems like the Trump White House is working harder on constructing a new White House Ballroom than averting huge spikes in monthly premiums for 20 million Americans next year,” observed Brendan Duke of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

Those sentiments align with a new study from Navigator Research about how some Americans in six Senate battleground states feel about President Donald Trump’s focus.

“The wealthy are seen as benefitting from a rigged system,” Navigator reported on its findings, “and politicians are seen as not getting it. Many view President Trump as particularly out of touch, with his ballroom project as key evidence.”

“Trump is seen as out of touch with working class people, with several citing his ballroom project as a proofpoint,” Navigator added.

The study noted that focus group participants “are struggling mightily to afford the basics – like dog food or energy bills – and see no real sign of the situation improving.”

Navigator also cited comments from focus group participants who shared a variety of concerns, including about the cost of living — and the president’s ballroom.

“I see the president building a ballroom when there’s people that can’t feed their families,” said a Michigan woman, described as a “weak Democrat.”

A woman in New Hampshire, also a weak Democrat, shared, “I blame Trump. He’s greedy, he wants to make money for him and his rich friends. They are throwing Americans aside, cutting, SNAP,” she said of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “Everything’s gone to the wayside so that the rich can get richer.”

“I’m scared,” said a New Hampshire woman, an independent. “I’m scared. I’m scared of us losing our healthcare, of him not getting the care that he needs, and me not being able to provide for my family, even though I went to school and got a career to do so.”

A New Hampshire woman described as a weak Democrat said, “I think the economy’s going to tank because when we all lose healthcare starting in January, or most of us like me, I’m going to lose it in January, what is that going to do to the economy? People can’t afford to buy anything now. It’s going to just kill it.”

“How about a ballroom?” asked a Maine woman who was described as an independent. “A billion dollars. How much was it? $5 billion, $3 billion or something? Do we really need a ballroom, ladies? Are we going to go to a f – – dance?…They’re all out for themselves. ‘Let’s do the ballroom. Let’s do stuff that don’t need to be done and screw the American people.’”

Dems 'deeply concerned' over Trump ballroom funding as they warn of 'quid pro quo' payment

Democrats are "deeply concerned" that some donations made to Donald Trump's White House ballroom project could be perceived as "quid pro quo" payments.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and a collection of other Dem representatives are in talks with leaders from Microsoft, Meta, and Nvidia, among others, to receive further details on their donations to the ballroom plan. The president confirmed the money used in renovating the east wing of the White House would be paid for through donations made by several companies including Apple and Amazon.

The White House renovation project was confirmed on July 31 in an official statement from Trump's press team. Their statement reads, "President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications."

Senator Warren has since questioned whether these donations will be used as "quid pro quo" payments to influence the government. She told The Wall Street Journal, "I’m deeply concerned that we may be looking at a quid pro quo right out in public."

"These companies all have important business in front of the federal government—the kind of company-altering business like whether a giant merger gets approved or whether an antitrust prosecution goes forward."

Trump has made it clear he views the renovation as crucial to his presidential legacy, and that the ballroom would be of a whole new "magnitude" for his presidency. He said, "Chief executives throughout history have contributed to making the White House special, and nothing of this magnitude has been done."

But donations made to the president's plan to create a ballroom fit to host world leaders has been spiked by some as a chance for businesses to influence decisions which may benefit them in future. A letter seen by the WSJ has reportedly asked companies why they decided to donate to the ballroom, and whether any conversations about donations included specific government actions against the company.

It comes as an analyst suggested Hollywood elites are "palm-greasing" with Trump by conceding to his Rush Hour movie demands in the hopes of pushing a studio merger through.

The Bulwark's Catherine Rampell wrote, "It’s a merger that would normally face ginormous antitrust obstacles, given that the companies collectively control a third of the North American box office. But the administration has shown an inclination to dispense with regulatory hurdles when it comes to its friends."

"And ponying up the cash for a potential box-office dud will, if nothing else, further ingratiate Paramount to Trump."

'No, no, no. We aren't going to read the lies': News host interrupts White House statement

An attempt by the Department of Homeland Security to explain away using a song by pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter in an ICE propaganda video, despite Carpenter’s protestations, did not get an airing on MS NOW on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, a war broke out between Carpenter and ICE over the use of her song "Juno" over videos of immigrants being brutalized on orders from Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Carpenter called the misuse of her music “evil and disgusting," and added, "Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda."

That led to a response from Abigail Jackson said: "Here's a Short n' Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won't apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists, and pedophiles from our country. Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?"

On “Morning Joe,” Mika Brzezinski called the White House response “sick” and, when she attempted to read Jackson’s statement, co-host Joe Scarborough cut her off.

“Nope, nope, nope, nope. We're not going to read the lies,” he interjected.

“They are, ICE is getting innocent people that are going to see their family,” he continued. “They are, they are busting down like kindergartens and pulling out kindergarten teachers. They're throwing mothers to the ground. It's savage, the savagery, the cruelty.”

“And it's something they celebrate; they love this,” he added. “They think inside the White House, they — I mean, Donald Trump has said before he doesn't want to see mothers ripped from the arms of children, but that's exactly what they're doing tenfold compared to the first term. So it's why he's upside down on immigration, an issue that should be his strongest because the southern border is shut down.”

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