New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who has a new book out with colleague Jonathan Swan, explained just how much of an oversized obsession President Donald Trump has with remaking Washington D.C. in his image.
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The Daily Beast reported Friday about Haberman’s appearance on Ezra Klein’s podcast in which she claimed, “If you looked at a chart of his mind share, this I will say about getting into his mind: Seventy percent of it would be on his renovations.”
The 80-year-old president has an unlimited budget at his fingertips to carry out renovation demands with little approval process. When it comes to his bulldozing of the East Wing of the White House, Trump started out saying he would “fundraise” for costs to replace it with a 9,000 square foot structure including a ballroom. Trump is now requesting Congress allocate the money for the project, saying it’s for “national security.”
Haberman recalled that when she and Swan spoke to Trump in March to fact-check things for their book, Haberman said most of the conversation was about his big plans. The war in Iran had just begun.
“It’s Day 17 of the war, and he’s telling us: Here’s my models of the ballroom — and so forth. It was like he didn’t have a care in the world,” said Haberman.
She was asked whether the war or any other policy occupies as much of Trump’s attention as his building projects and she said frankly “no.”
Thus far, Trump’s projects have ballooned in size and in price. When Trump decided that the renovated Reflecting Pool needed a special lining, he promised it would only cost about $1.5 million. That cost now stands at over $16 million, according to an NBC News analysis.
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The White House East Wing was initially said to cost $200 million, which Trump promised would be funded by donors and not at taxpayer expense. The cost of the ballroom now stands at over $600 million so far, with less than half ($293 million) coming from private donors. GOP lawmakers proposed giving Trump $1 billion for the project.
Trump decided that two large bronze equestrian statues on the east entrance of Memorial Bridge should instead be a thick layer of pure gold. The estimated cost was $2.4 million. The Art Deco-style bronze-cast statues had patinaed over the years, giving them a time-worn glow. Critics now call the statues “gaudy” and “way too shiny.”
“I think from a tourist perspective, sure?” said Maryland resident Carlos Burger when speaking to the BBC. He was certain to add the words “Question mark.”
The final cost is double the initial estimate at $5.1 million so far. There still could be overage costs once it is finalized, USA Today reported.
Another forthcoming project is his 250-foot arch that will block Arlington National Cemetery, which sits on a hill overlooking Washington. It is modeled after Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, which, in part, is to memorialize those who fought and died in the French Revolutionary War. It’s already being referred to as the “Arc de Trump.” The cost there begins at $100 million in taxpayer dollars. There’s also a new renovation of Dulles International Airport that Trump has started, which will cost at least $22 billion and will feature a gold ceiling.
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