Where we go next in Trump’s acquisition of power is best summed up by one of the first rules of real estate: You don’t modernize a rental. Does anybody really think Trump is building a humungous ballroom for J.D. Vance?
The ostentatious ‘renovation’ of the East Wing currently underway, then, is the obvious tell that Trump is plotting to stick around in the White House for, well, forever. That’s what autocrats do.
Speaker Mike Johnson says he’s talked with Trump about seeking a third term and told him there’s “no path” around the Constitutional “roadblocks” that prohibit such an audacious move.
But Johnson has a vested interest in downplaying Trump’s thirst for power—it’s the key to him holding on to his own. The Republican “majority-makers” in Congressional swing seats across the country have enough trouble with Trump 2.0. That’d he be running the show for good (or not so good) is not a winning message in the handful of critical elections that determine which party controls the House chamber.
Of course, while Johnson and Trump himself are trying to calm the waters they roiled, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon insists there’s a plan for 2028 (and beyond?) that involves “multiple pathways.” One that’s been batted around before has Trump running as Vance’s veep—and then them doing a switcheroo on inauguration day. Trump knocked that down as “too cute,” but it’s on his radar.
Trump could also mount a direct challenge to the 22nd amendment which limits a president to two terms, probing for any leeway to exploit in the case that those two terms—the first two terms, at least—are not consecutive. It’s not crazy to think a sympathetic conservative majority on the Supreme Court that has already given Trump much of what he wants could find a way to rule in his favor.
The demolition of the East Wing is “another indicator of autocracy” right out of the dictators’ playbook,” Steve Cash, executive director of The Steady State and a former national security official in the Biden administration, told The Daily Beast. “The destruction of a symbolic edifice is a dramatic statement of power, and that is what it was primarily intended to do.”
The Washington Post editorial board, complying with owner Jeff Bezos’ new direction for the paper, gently chided Trump for razing the historic space after promising to not touch it. But it needed to be done, the editorial opined. “The White House cannot simply be a museum to the past.” Regulatory approvals would have taken too long, it continued, while noting potential conflicts could arise in a project funded by rich donors, including Bezos—who was not named when the editorial first posted online.
“Trump will do anything to entrench his political power and that includes skewing election results. He tried to do it before, so why wouldn’t he do it again?”— Michael Sozan
But the editorial missed the point by dwelling on regulatory small print, Cash argues. Trump doesn’t care about getting the go-ahead from historical preservation groups—case in point, he’s fired all six Biden-appointed members of the Commission on Fine Arts, the last agency still standing that could have objected.
Same with elections, Cash added. “That’s what autocratic leaders do—cancel an election and declare a state of emergency.”
Trump’s rationale would presumably be that he is the greatest president since Washington and Lincoln, that he has the “best numbers” of any recent president, and that he has a mandate from the people—only he can make America even greater again. “There’s some visceral appeal to his argument,” Cash said. “He’s saying that what I really care about is democracy,” and that the will of the people should carry the day. Of course, it would beg the question: Which people?
Recent polling finds a majority of Americans (56%) oppose the demolition of the East Wing to make way for Trump’s ballroom, with 45% “strongly disapproving.” The clarity of the opposition reflects the mess Trump has made of a dwelling meant to be in his care only temporarily.
“I have grudging respect for (Trump) in that he tells us what he’s doing… he says the quiet part out loud,” said Michael Sozan, a member of the democracy team at liberal think tank The Center for American Progress. “It’s good to hear Speaker Johnson and Trump acknowledge the fact that the Constitution prohibits Trump from serving as president for a third term. But we’ve also seen them quickly reverse themselves on countless issues, so we clearly must remain vigilant on this.”
A prominent election denier, Heather Honey, now heads the Election Integrity unit at the Department of Homeland Security, a role that did not previously exist. And Trump’s DOJ is sending election monitors to New Jersey, where GOP gains in the blue state could take hold in next week’s gubernatorial election, and to California polling places where a ballot measure could allow Democrats to gain more House seats in next year’s midterm election.
“It’s all part of making sure nothing in the system can stop him,” Sozan continued. “It doesn’t surprise me if he wants to be president for the rest of his life. He’s taking a wrecking ball to the White House and to our rule of law.”
Trump has waltzed around roadblocks that would for many be disqualifying in the past. Two impeachments and a rap sheet didn’t keep him from the presidency. No way he walks away without a fight from that big, beautiful ballroom he’s building.
The post Opinion: The Big Clue to Trump’s Political Future Is the Jackhammer in the Ballroom appeared first on The Daily Beast.
