From The New York Times:
‘Cheap’ and ‘Appalling’: Trump’s Ballroom Plans Receive a Flood of Negative Comments
The National Capital Planning Commission received about 32,000 messages during its public comment period. Suffice it to say: Many people are not happy with the president’s ballroom plans.
Luke Broadwater and Dylan Freedman
Reporting from Washington
“Gaudy and cheap.” “Monolithic.” “Appalling.”
A flood of messages from across the country has poured into the National Capital Planning Commission, which is holding a public comment period before its vote on Thursday about whether to move forward with President Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom project.
The commission has received about 32,000 comments in all. Suffice it to say: Many people are not happy with what Mr. Trump is doing to the White House.
The public comments are not a scientific poll and should not be seen as reflecting the views of Americans more broadly. Still, they underscore how Mr. Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and remaking of the White House in his own style have struck a nerve with Americans.
An overwhelming majority of the comments, more than 98 percent, are negative, according to an analysis by The New York Times, which used an artificial intelligence model to classify each comment’s view. Only around 1 percent of the comments supported the project.
Those familiar with D.C. projects say the volume of responses — and how uniformly negative they were — is highly unusual.
The comments came from people across the country, spanning a variety of professional backgrounds. Many of the objections focus on the size of the ballroom and others on the president’s taste in gold décor. For others, Mr. Trump’s primary offense was the way he chose to suddenly tear down the White House’s historic East Wing without seeking approval from Congress, the courts or any planning commission.
Penny Jarrett, who grew up on the outskirts of Washington, wrote to the commission on Feb. 17, objecting to what she called a “gold plated monstrosity.”
Some express disbelief that Trump can just ‘do that’
What Donald Trump is doing to the White House and proposing for other construction, is appalling. How could he just “do that” without consent from you or Congress? PLEASE don’t let him get away with him building this addition, gold plated monstrosity as it will be a replica of his “gold plated lifestyle” which is disgusting.
Marcia Westphal of Nashville wrote to the panel on Feb. 16, objecting to the title of the ballroom project, which the White House refers to as a “modernization” plan.
Others call Trump’s actions a ‘razing of American history’
It is not a modernization project but rather a complete razing of American history. I want this project canceled, and the East Wing rebuilt and restored to its former design. No one is above the law and to permit this project to go ahead without penalizing those who broke the law would be an affront to all law-abiding Americans.
The objections included architects from across the country and some lawmakers.
Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and the co-chairman of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, wrote to the commission in October, raising concerns about the demolition of the East Wing.
Even lawmakers wrote in to express their concerns
I have substantial concerns regarding the action or inaction by the National Capital Planning Commission and/or the White House during the undertaking of the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were deeply disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation’s history.
Not all who wrote in were opposed. The small group of people who commented in favor of the plans included Greg Sullivan, a landscape architect, who wrote on Feb. 17 that he voted for Mr. Trump to bring his agenda to the White House.
Not all comments were negative
I voted for our president and what he is bringing to the White House. He will do an awesome job on this much needed addition useful by all subsequent administrations.
Mr. Trump has estimated the cost of the project to be $400 million, roughly double what he originally said the price tag would be. He has said he is raising money from private donors for the project so no taxpayer money will be needed for its construction.
“President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense,” Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said in a statement. “These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the People’s House.”
The National Capital Planning Commission’s meeting will be held online on Thursday, a move that will eliminate the possibility of in-person objections from the public.
The president has taken a number of steps to eliminate any pockets of resistance from within his administration to the ballroom plans, filling the boards and commissions meant to oversee the project with people who work for him. Some of them have no notable background in the arts.
Mr. Trump has installed his former personal lawyer Will Scharf as the chairman of National Capital Planning Commission. Mr. Scharf currently serves as assistant to the president and the White House staff secretary. The panel also has representation from the D.C. government.
Last month, an arts commission stacked with Mr. Trump’s allies approved his $400 million ballroom, bypassing the normal review process and fast-tracking the vote.
Should the National Capital Planning Commission approve Mr. Trump’s plans, the final obstacle to the construction of the ballroom would be the courts.
A federal judge declined to halt construction of the project last week, but gave lawyers from the National Trust for Historic Preservation a road map for creating a new argument he said he would consider.
Taking up those claims, which focus on the president’s statutory authority to unilaterally overhaul the White House grounds, the group filed an updated complaint on Sunday.
The judge, Richard J. Leon, said last week that he would revisit those revised claims “expeditiously.”
Zach Montague contributed reporting.
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
Dylan Freedman is the A.I. projects editor for The Times, investigating a range of topics. He has experience as both a reporter and a machine-learning engineer.
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