Trump’s ballroom
It will cost taxpayers $769 million to demolish the East Wing and build his garish ballroom. And a lot more when Trump cuts their Medicare and Medicaid benefits to pay for it.
He wouldn’t disclose how much his corporate ballroom donors contributed to his ballroom. But here’s what they got in return:
- 14 corporate donors received new or increased government contracts over the last 6 months totaling over $50 billion.
- 19 donors received government contracts totaling $338 billion over the last 5 ½ years.
- 14 donors had federal enforcement actions against them suspended.
- Antitrust actions involving Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and T-Mobile were suspended.
- Labor rights cases involving Amazon, Apple, Caterpillar, Google, Lockheed and Meta, and SEC matters involving Coinbase and Ripple, were suspended.
- Election spending by Trump ballroom donors from 2021 to 2025 was $819,767,243.
- Trump’s paying $38.3 billion to his buddies to use their warehouses as detention centers to hold immigrants. Is he profiting from ICE’s Gestapo-like roundup of immigrants.
In other words, these donors made a lot more than they donated.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Renovation: $16million paid by taxpayers.
Trump’s estimated $1.8million cost for his botched renovation of the LincolnMemorial reflecting pool sky rocketed to more than $16million that is paid for with your tax dollars to two contractors without going through the required bidding process. One is owned by a twice-convicted felon John J. Cafaro who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump political committees. He resorted to his usual tactic of shirking responsibility by claiming, without any supporting evidence, that six vandals had been arrested for a putting a “350-foot gash” in the paint he chose which caused the invasion of ubiquitous algae.
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Proposed Triumphal Arlington Arch r: $100million paid by taxpayers
Trump wants to spend $100million of taxpayer money to honor himself with a Triumphal Arch near Arlington Cemetery. Punsters frequently refer to it as the “Arc de Trump.” Nearly all Americans who have weighed in on the project find it offensive.
Trump’s 250th Army Anniversary Military Parade: $30 to $45 paid by taxpayers.
Trump spent $30 million–$45 of taxpayer money on his 250th army Anniversary Military Parade. It was America’s first to feature heavy duty military equipment and the first in three decades not associated with a presidential inauguration or victory at war. It is also the first to coincide with a President’s birthday.
Given the infrequency military parades and coincidence of the flag’s birth, the army anniversary and Trump’s birthday, it’s evident that the parade is meant to glorify Trump. It is also seen as a wannabe spectacle of his authoritarian idols, Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and, yes, Adolf Hitler, who also held a military parade on his birthday.
These are expenditures of taxpayer money that have no relevance to the public good. And if we add the cost of corruption by the President and his cabinet, we come up with enough money to fund basic needs of Americans. including:
- Housing for tens of thousands of families. Trump won’t sign bipartisan affordable housing bill until Congress passes voter suppression bill.
- Childcare for working parents which is unaffordable in every State.
- Fixing aging bridges and roads. The current Infrastructure Law funding isn’t enough to do the job.
- Expanding access to mental health care
- Boosting teachers’ pay and keeping classrooms staffed. Many districts struggle to recruit and retain teachers due to low pay and challenging working conditions.
- Strengthening and reopening rural hospitals and emergency rooms. Republican cuts to Medicare and Medicaid are likely to close many rural hospitals.
- Tackling homelessness. A record number of people nationally are homeless.
- Disaster preparedness and climate resilience Trump obliterated the agencies that provided this.
In 2024, 45.5% of U.S. households didn’t earn enough to cover their necessities. A mere $1,000 hike in the cost of living would leave another 3 million households unable to cover basic needs such as housing, healthcare and childcare. For some, paying for essentials means skipping meals, increased debt and delayed medical care.
So as middle and low earners are forced to scrape by as Trump spends their tax dollars on underserved homage to himself. And he’s been a good example for the rest of his administration who have successfully employed his dishonesty.
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