Who's paying for Trump's White House ballroom? | DW News

0:00 Donald Trump says it will be the most beautiful ballroom ever built.

0:04 That's likely to be a matter of taste.

0:06 But one thing that is certain,

0:08 the US president's plan to replace the east wing of the White

0:11 House would result in the most expensive ballroom ever built,

0:15 leaving the question of who's going to foot the bill.

0:18 For months, the president has insisted

0:20 that private donors would cover the costs.

0:22 Here's what he said when the plan was announced in July.

0:26 Can you talk about your plans for the new ballroom that was announced today

0:29 and the $200 million that's going to be paid for by yourself as well?

0:33 Private donations.

0:34 It's a private thing.

0:35 Yeah.

0:35 I'll do it and we'll probably have some donors or whatever,

0:37 but it's about 200 million.

0:39 No government dollars at all.

0:41 No government.

0:41 No.

0:43 Since then, estimated costs have ballooned to $400 million.

0:48 Now, Republican senators are seeking a billion

0:51 in taxpayer dollars for the project.

0:54 Republicans insist that money would only be

0:57 spent on security upgrades and that the cost

1:00 of the building that the the building

1:01 itself would still be funded by private donations.

1:05 President Trump has justified the project by saying

1:08 the White House urgently needs a large event space,

1:12 but polls show a large majority of the American public are opposed.

1:16 Ballrooms also facing legal challenges which are

1:19 still making their way through the courts.

1:25 Ethan Bman is a liberal political commentator and talk radio host.

1:29 He's also adjunct professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

1:33 So, welcome to DW.

1:35 Um, what's your understanding of what the billion dollars

1:39 being sought by Republican senators would be spent on?

1:45 Well, the argument as of today is for security reasons.

1:49 when uh President Trump tore down the east wing

1:52 of the White House without anybody's knowledge or permission,

1:55 um he also removed certain security apparatuses used by the federal government.

2:00 So, it would be likely used for the security

2:04 reasons and additionally in light of the unknown

2:07 status of so-called private donors funding the ballroom could

2:11 be also used partially to fund the ballroom itself.

2:14 All right, we'll get to those donors shortly,

2:16 but the government's currently trailing debts of around $38 trillion.

2:21 So, an extra billion doesn't sound like an awful lot.

2:24 How do you assess their chances of getting it?

2:29 Well, I think there's a lot of um consternation right

2:32 now amongst the handful of moderate Republicans left in DC,

2:36 let alone the American people.

2:38 Again, this is a this is a a crisis of the president's own doing.

2:43 um he tore it down.

2:44 There was no plan in place to replace it.

2:47 It now suddenly is allegedly a crisis uh that most of us don't agree with.

2:53 Um but we have to look to people like Representative Don Bacon,

2:56 for example, from Nebraska.

2:58 He's one of the moderate Republicans who's retiring.

3:01 Um classic conservative who who sees the problems with a president

3:05 running um with as if he is a king.

3:09 Uh and and that is a major issue here in the United States right now.

3:12 We're going to find out though very shortly if the House

3:15 and or the Senate are actually going to support this.

3:18 And if they don't, I think the bigger question becomes then what?

3:23 What do you think happens then?

3:27 Well, now we have a a genuine crisis that has been

3:30 caused by this president in that he tore down the East Wing.

3:34 He didn't follow things such as the National Historic Preservation Act.

3:39 Um, we also have environmental laws that are involved.

3:42 I I know that it's the White House, so most of those will get bypassed.

3:45 But but there are rules and regulations around modifying major

3:50 national structures such as the White House that were ignored.

3:54 Now it becomes a crisis of we have this entire

3:57 missing east wing that were done uh that was done unilaterally

4:01 by this president and now we really are going to have

4:05 to have a serious congress congressional conversation about what do we do?

4:10 And there is a quite the possibility that in November

4:13 the Republicans are no longer in control of the legislative branch.

4:18 Is it a crisis a billion dollars?

4:22 It's a building.

4:24 Explain to us non-Americans how you know for most

4:28 of us a crisis is a is a natural catastrophe.

4:31 It's a war.

4:32 You're talking about a building being knocked down.

4:34 That doesn't sound like a crisis, right?

4:38 And normally it's not.

4:40 Uh and again, this is in a self-inflicted one.

4:43 I agree with you.

4:44 We have a war in the Middle East of of this president's choosing.

4:47 Um, we have gas prices now in the United States that are causing serious um,

4:52 e- e economic repercussions that are continuing to build by the day,

4:56 let alone our allies,

4:58 at least who most Americans consider our allies in Europe, such as Germany um,

5:03 and France and others who are suffering um,

5:06 heavily economically because of this um,

5:08 unwise approach to war in the Middle East.

5:12 And it is a war regardless of what this war stick with the bill.

5:17 Yeah.

5:17 Yeah, let's do one crisis at a time.

5:21 So, Phil, but but the reason this becomes

5:23 a crisis is it is a national security hub.

5:26 It is a hub of communications that was there in the east

5:30 wing that is now gone and needs to be replaced.

5:34 Uh a and that becomes a serious issue with the ma

5:37 the massive amount of geopolitical unrest that is occurring right now.

5:43 Um, and that's what makes it a crisis ultimately.

5:46 You can't have a missing section of the White House

5:49 and miss a key nerve center for the national security apparatus.

5:53 Okay.

5:53 So, clearly you're not a Trump fan.

5:57 As far as the American people go,

5:59 bearing in mind that they that um the he won the popular vote.

6:02 Do they care about this?

6:04 Is is this what people are talking about

6:06 in in bars and and supermarket cues, this this ballroom?

6:10 Do do people care?

6:12 Is it going to hurt him?

6:15 No.

6:15 Um he's already been hurt.

6:17 His approval ratings are down around the 30%

6:19 mark depending on what you're which poll you're reading.

6:22 Um that this is not hurting him.

6:24 This is not what people are concerned about.

6:26 Comp people presently are concerned about the cost

6:29 of living has just gone up and up and up.

6:32 Uh the average person,

6:34 not the wealthy class in the United States, is is suffering.

6:37 And that's what they're talking about.

6:38 how much it costs to fill up their car at the gas pump, how much groceries cost,

6:42 the fact that they can't afford beef anymore at the grocery store,

6:46 or have to cut way back on normal foods that are part of the American diet.

6:51 Let's talk about these these um donors who may

6:54 or may not may not chip in to fund this extravaganza.

6:59 He he's insisted that that the ballroom will be a gift to the US taxpayers,

7:04 100% funded by private donors.

7:06 What is known of these donors?

7:10 We know very little.

7:12 Uh and what we also don't know is whether or not

7:15 they've actually put up any money or just made verbal commitments,

7:18 which of course can be walked back at any time.

7:21 Uh but what we do know is that it is

7:23 part of the Trump donor class uh who have made

7:27 at least the verbal um this had the verbal discussions

7:31 with the with the sitting president regarding funding this ballroom.

7:34 and that would include um allegedly people like

7:38 Jeff Bezos and others in that billionaire class.

7:42 But we just don't know.

7:43 And that's part of the problem whether or not you're

7:47 a Republican or a Democrat is the fact that there's

7:50 no history for private donors to fund the construction

7:55 of a new ballroom that's attached to the White House.

7:58 There's no history of naming anything after

8:02 a sitting president while he's still a sitting president.

8:04 This is a a chaotic presidency that that uh is unprecedented and pushing

8:11 our system in ways that I don't believe the founding fathers ever expected.

8:15 Okay.

8:15 So, you're the lawyer.

8:16 Let me throw something at you and then you tell me how many ways I'm wrong.

8:21 It doesn't matter.

8:22 None of this matters.

8:23 This is consequencefree for this president.

8:26 If this if the the East Wing stays down if Congress says no,

8:31 you should not have done it,

8:34 nothing comes back to this president because the Supreme Court says he can do

8:38 what he likes so long as he did it as and while he was president.

8:45 Yeah.

8:45 Well, he can't do anything that he would be criminally liable is what they

8:49 ruled and as long as it within that was within his powers as president.

8:53 Now, that was not defined whatsoever in that Supreme Court decision.

8:57 Um, and to your point, I I don't see uh many areas to disagree with you.

9:02 The Supreme Court is not going to rule that he did something,

9:06 at least not according to my interpretation of their their rulings,

9:09 that they would ever find this president for what

9:12 he has done in this situation in particular,

9:15 that's within his powers, they would argue.

9:17 Um, there is no liability back to the president.

9:19 He cannot run for another term under the 22nd amendment,

9:24 which is part of the Constitution.

9:26 And I'm always shocked to hear people talk about

9:28 amendments as if that's not part of the Constitution.

9:31 Amendments become part of the Constitution of the United States.

9:35 The 22nd amendment says he cannot run again in 2028.

9:40 Therefore, what are the what are the ramifications?

9:42 Now, what what we can talk about is things that were done outside

9:46 of the core of his functions as the executive in the United States.

9:52 But but the odds of that happening, slim to none.

9:54 It's going to be those around him who may

9:56 be suffering uh after he's no longer in office.

10:00 But the president himself,

10:01 I see very little uh in ways to hold him accountable, if any.

10:06 Good talking to you.

10:07 Thanks very much, Ethan.

10:08 Ethan Bman, a liberal political commentator and attorney.

10:11 Thank you.

10:13 Thank you, Phil.