Three of Trump's latest and controversial construction projects
UFC fights, ballroom construction and memorial redecoration have been on the top of President Trump's to-do list as his criticism grows.
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To celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S., Flag Day, and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, UFC is hosting a fight on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14th. As of May 25, construction has begun at the White House for UFC Freedom 250. The event will have seating for 5,000 and 85,000 tickets free to the public for viewing.
The event is happening at a time when Trump is at his most unpopular, his disapproval rating is up to 59%, according to the New York Times latest averages of different polls.
The president and CEO of UFC, Dana White, has said in an interview with Rolling Stone “I bet he probably wishes this wasn’t happening, but it is happening.” White, a longtime friend of Trump, said that “there’s always bad things going on” like the war in Iran, and things have to keep going when running a global business, or in Trump’s case, a country. Joe Rogan, another longtime supporter of Trump doesn’t approve of the event amidst the rising tensions in the Middle East.
This project is just one of the many controversial ones that Trump has attempted to complete over the course of his second term. One of the first and most notorious projects is the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to build a 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom that would be able to host around 1,000 guests. Along with many technical critiques, including the unsymmetrical design and staircases that led to nowhere, the design is so large it undermines the fact that the White House was intentionally built to be “restrained in size and expression.” Architect Jorge Salgado disapproves of the large design beside the original buildings, which are 35,000 sq. ft. smaller than the ballroom.
Although the East Wing has already been demolished, there have been several hindrances in the process of actually building. On March 31, it was reported by NPR that a U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that construction on the ballroom must be halted until congress approves it to be completed. Congress is still keeping any building from happening, but Trump is protesting this in light of the most recent assassination attempt on himself
Trump is also currently working on another project, painting the reflection pool in Washington D.C. “American flag blue.” The project was first projected to cost $2 million or $3 million, but now Trump claims there is more work to do on the exterior and his new estimate is $20 million.
There is also a nonprofit organization in D.C. who has sued the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum over their support in the decision to paint the bottom of the pool blue. The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed the lawsuit and asked for the project to be stopped and reviewed federally. However, Trump’s goal is to have the project done by July 4, 2026.
This lawsuit to lawsuit and others made in protest to these projects brings up the questionable morality and motivations for these projects. When the White House was built, it was deliberately modest, the founding fathers wanted to leave behind the grand palaces the monarchs built before them. They wanted the White House to symbolize democracy. So, the question is — do these new renovations reflect those values? Sarah Boardman, an interior designer, said to the Huff Post that “Everything about the materials, scale and design are all about his ego, not the people.” While it is good to have spaces to gather, many spaces like this already exist within the White House and many people believe they don’t need to be changed, but simply just upkept.
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