That ballroom; the episode continues!

Former Biden Aide: Demolition of East Wing 'Probably Needed'  . . . " 'It's heartbreaking, and I'm sentimental about it and sad," LaRosa said. "At the same time, I think every first family, every president, should play a role in evolving the White House and updating it and modernizing it and sometimes expanding it."

"I don't think there's any question that a ballroom is probably needed," LaRosa continued. "But I understand the sadness around the East Wing because I feel it myself.' " . . .

The arrangement no doubt frosts the perennial Trump opposition, but when you think of how many other projects have burned time and billions, there may be something to be said for the Trump route.

Joy Reid goes on unhinged rant about Trump’s WH ballroom. She clearly didn’t do her homework.   "Fired MSNBC host Joy Reid went on an unhinged rant about President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom while getting basic facts wrong.

"Reid falsely asserted that the taxpayers are paying for the construction of the new White House ballroom, though Trump and donors are paying for it with their own private funds. She lamented that Americans will not receive their food stamps while the ballroom construction is entering its early stages." . . .

 . . . "High-profile Democrats have accused Trump of abusing his power by tearing down the East Wing. Among those include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Many prominent political figures have falsely accused Trump of using Americans’ taxpayer dollars to fund the ballroom." . . .

MSNBC owners support Ballroom: Comcast is one of the donors paying for White House ballroom   

. . . "Despite the contributions, the Trump administration has attacked Comcast-owned media outlets such as NBC and MSNBC for content he’s found objectionable.

"The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, to be named after Trump, could hold close to 1,000 people for state dinners and events, Time magazine reported.

The project is not without controversy." . . .

Is Comcast helping fund Trump's $250M ballroom? MSNBC's parent company among the list of donors to fund White House's controversial renovation

So, can we stop the whining? MSNBC clowns, you literally funded what you call the desecration of the People’s House, which was also a silly term.

Deputy AG Todd Blanche Warns California Dems to ‘Stand Down or Face Prosecution’ After Pelosi Threatens to Arrest ICE Agents

 Debra Heine

"Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday warned top California Democrats to “stand down or face prosecution” after Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threatened to have federal law enforcement agents operating in her district arrested.

" 'Pelosi stated in a press release Wednesday that San Francisco police may arrest federal agents if they are found violating state law during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Blanche stated on Friday that any officer who lays a hand on federal law enforcement will be committing a crime.

" 'The former speaker issued the press release in reaction to “reports of a planned mass immigration raid” in the San Francisco area, and denounced the raids as an “appalling abuse of law enforcement power.”

"President Trump has since put on hold his decision to send 100 additional ICE and federal agents to San Francisco, giving the local government one more chance to tackle the city’s high crime problem.

“ 'It is important to note that California law protects communities and prevents federal agents from taking certain actions here that we have witnessed in other states,” Pelosi stated on her press release.

" ' 'While the President may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not. Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law—and if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them,” she added.

" 'The 85-year-old concluded that San Francisco residents will “continue to stand with the patriotic immigrants who are the constant reinvigoration of America.”

" 'San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in an interview that she had come up with the strategy after seeing federal agents allegedly “roughing up people in Los Angeles and Chicago,” according to the New York Times." . . .More...

New: DOJ Warns Pelosi to ‘Stand Down’ or Face Ramifications After She Threatened to Arrest ICE Agents

Texas Dem Suggests She’ll Slash Republicans in the Throat If They Try to ‘Bully’ Her  . . . "She also said that her party’s lack of fight against the Trump administration is why Democrats are losing poor and black people. No, lady. That’s not it, because those voters already back the president. Yes, they’ve left Democrats—you got that part right—but they’re with us now.  

"They’re leaving your party because you don’t do anything except rage against Trump, and denigrate working people by accusing them of being dumb if you vote for anyone else." 

CNN host grills KJP over whether Biden ‘should be president right now’

Rebranding Failure: Broc Smith

CNN host grills KJP over whether Biden ‘should be president right now’ 

. . . “I mean, we’re talking 2023, 2024. Why didn’t you have concerns?” Keilar asked. “Why didn’t you raise them?”

" 'So I did not have any concerns. I saw him on a daily basis, Brianna,” Jean-Pierre said. “You know that. I saw him every day. I engaged with him every day.”

 "While Jean-Pierre acknowledged Biden “showed age,” she claimed he was “sharp.”

" 'This is a president that pushed his staff. This is a president that was on top of what the policies [were] that he cared about, that were important to the American people,” she said. “And let’s not forget, he also was leading a coalition, an international coalition when it came to something that we hadn’t seen in decades, when it came to the war in Ukraine. There was a lot going on.”

"As Jean-Pierre rambled on about what she claimed was Biden’s successful presidency and justified her defense of the former president’s mental acuity, Keilar cut her off to say she was not addressing her questions.

" 'Do you think he should be president right now? Do you think that he is capable right now of being president?” the CNN host asked. “Because that was what you were advocating for: someone who would be president in his current state until 2029.”“Yeah. I did not see anything that concerned me when he decided to run for president. I did not. This is someone that I saw every single day. Again, he was on top of the policies,” Jean-Pierre said. “He was sharp. He was someone that cared about what the outcome of the issues that were in front of the American people [were] and what we were doing. I’m speaking from my own personal opinion. "I’m speaking from what I saw on a day-to-day basis.” . . .More...

Joe Biden is Sharp as a Tack

Mehdi Hasan Has Tantrum As Americans Inform Him They Don’t Want Islamic Call To Prayer In Their Neighborhoods

 Daily Caller  

"Hasan also posted a sweeping historical claim. “One in three of the slaves who built this country were Muslims. They were here long before the Walsh family arrived." 

"Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan lashed out online after Americans pushed back against his defense of the Islamic call to prayer being played in U.S. neighborhoods.

The Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, is broadcast five times daily and serves as a prominent auditory reminder of faith across Muslim communities. Hasan went on an extended rant on X, blasting what he called right-wing intolerance and claiming Muslim Americans face growing hostility from conservatives.

“I think that if you can play church bells you can pray the [Islamic] call to prayer. We are as American as anyone else and don’t take any BS,” Hasan can be heard saying in a video that was circulated on social media Tuesday. Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill quoted the video showing Hasan making those comments on the same day, sparking an exchange between the two.

"Hasan responded by pointing out that Gill’s wife is Indian American and the daughter of an immigrant. The congressman’s father-in-law is prominent Christian conservative documentary filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.

"Gill in return responded to Hasan, pointing out that his wife is a Christian who “doesn’t Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan lashed out online after Americans pushed back against his defense of the Islamic call to prayer being played in U.S. neighborhoods.

"The Islamic call to prayer, or adhan, is broadcast five times daily and serves as a prominent auditory reminder of faith across Muslim communities. Hasan went on an extended rant on X, blasting what he called right-wing intolerance and claiming Muslim Americans face growing hostility from conservatives.

“I think that if you can play church bells you can pray the [Islamic] call to prayer. We are as American as anyone else and don’t take any BS,” Hasan can be heard saying in a video that was circulated on social media Tuesday. Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill quoted the video showing Hasan making those comments on the same day, sparking an exchange between the two." . . .

Dems’ Hysterical Fits Over Trump’s White House Ballroom Remodel Shows There’s No Bottom To TDS

 Issues & Insights 

 "Of all the things that Democrats have tried to tar President Donald Trump with, none is as petty, stupid and inconsequential as the current flap over remodeling the East Wing of the White House"

. . . "Democrats’ ginned-up outrage (we could list literally dozens of caustic quotations and even threats from a congressional leader and a former Biden speechwriter about Trump’s project) shows their desperation, as their federal government shutdown didn’t turn out to be the political boon they thought.

"Meanwhile, Democrat do-nothings look awfully pathetic, screaming from the sidelines like children about a remodeling job as Trump addresses serious global problems the nation faces, one by one:

• Illegal immigration slashed by closing the border and deporting criminals.
• Ending or temporarily halting eight armed conflicts around the world during the first eight months in office, including those between Israel and Iran; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Armenia and Azerbaijan; Thailand and Cambodia; India and Pakistan (nuclear powers); Egypt and Ethiopia; Serbia and Kosovo and, most recently, Israel and Hamas.
• Addressing the threat of narco-terrorists by direct military action on the open seas, and by hardline diplomacy with cartel-backed socialist governments in Colombia and Venezuela.
• Fending off continuing geopolitical challenges from Russia and China, as each tries to disrupt , occupy and bully neighboring nations.
• Shrinking the budget deficit, something none thought would be possible but, with more revenue from tariffs and cost-cutting by government, is now a reality.
• And keeping tax cuts in place through Republican passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will save taxpayers literally trillions of dollars in the coming years, according to the Tax Foundation.

"How’s that for two-thirds of a year? None of this, of course, will stop desperate Dems from throwing rhetorical rocks at Trump’s new ballroom. But those who throw rocks, as our pre-woke mothers wisely warned us, shouldn’t live in glass houses." . . .  More...

Anger over the White House ballroom is purely performative 

 . . . "So, here’s a little background. The East Wing of the White House was nothing fancy. It was hastily built in 1942, when D.C. was inundated with people working on WWII-related matters. (If you’d like to see a charming 1943 romantic comedy about the housing shortage this flood of people caused, I highly recommend The More The Merrier.) In other words, the East Wing was not a historically significant architectural gem. It was a hastily created office space." . . .

Leaving California: Interviews With Californians Who Moved To Greener Pastures

 California Political Review   

" . . .CEOs continue to cite high taxes, regulatory burdens and rising costs of living as major obstacles.”

"What could possibly make someone leave Laguna Niguel and Coachella Valley, California for a move to Goodyear, Arizona? According to our latest interview with Barri on Leaving California, California’s highest-in-the-country cost-of-living, and “quality of life.”

"Everyone is piling on California these days, and for many valid reasons. California is always ranked as one of the worst states in the country in which to run a business, while many other states are ranked at the top of the chart. People leave because of the exorbitantly high cost of living, leftist politics, and ever encroaching government.

"California even ranks as one of the bottom five least free states – a dismal 48th – on CATO Institute’s Freedom in the 50 States ranking. New Hampshire, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, and Arizona are the five freest states in the country.

"The Globe interviewed Barri, who left California 6 months ago and moved to Goodyear, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. Barri is a native of Coachella Valley where her agriculture family were growers. She was living in Laguna Niguel when she decided to take the plunge and leave her home state.

"Interestingly, we’ve been doing this series since 2019, and will update some of the states’ offerings. Sadly, California still ranks at the bottom on so many of the important categories – income and corporate taxes, regulations, education, right-to-work, unemployment and freedom.

"Chief Executive’s annual CEO survey of the best and worst places to do business reflects the impact of transformed global trade environment, changing regulatory frameworks and massive demographic and technological shifts taking place across the nation and they always rank California in an embarrassing last place at 50th. Back in 2019 when we first started this series, Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, ranked number 7, with a booming business environment. It is now ranked at 10th, but notably in the top 10, and still 40 slots above California.

"This year, 2025, Chief Executive reports Texas and Florida once again top the list, with Texas retaining its long-held No. 1 position. “Both Texas and Florida are growing states, in people and infrastructure,” said one CEO respondent. “I think the policies there invite business and make it easy to do business.”tax and property taxes, although they are a little less than California.”

“ 'Illinois, New York and California maintain their position as the bottom three states. Despite their economic scale and cultural capital, CEOs continue to cite high taxes, regulatory burdens and rising costs of living as major obstacles.” . . .What could possibly make someone leave Laguna Niguel and Coachella Valley, California for a move to Goodyear, Arizona? According to our latest interview with Barri on Leaving California, California’s highest-in-the-country cost-of-living, and “quality of life.”

Everyone is piling on California these days, and for many valid reasons. California is always ranked as one of the worst states in the country in which to run a business, while many other states are ranked at the top of the chart. People leave because of the exorbitantly high cost of living, leftist politics, and ever encroaching government.

California even ranks as one of the bottom five least free states – a dismal 48th – on CATO Institute’s Freedom in the 50 States ranking. New Hampshire, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, and Arizona are the five freest states in the country.

The Globe interviewed Barri, who left California 6 months ago and moved to Goodyear, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. Barri is a native of Coachella Valley where her agriculture family were growers. She was living in Laguna Niguel when she decided to take the plunge and leave her home state.

Interestingly, we’ve been doing this series since 2019, and will update some of the states’ offerings. Sadly, California still ranks at the bottom on so many of the important categories – income and corporate taxes, regulations, education, right-to-work, unemployment and freedom.

Chief Executive’s annual CEO survey of the best and worst places to do business reflects the impact of transformed global trade environment, changing regulatory frameworks and massive demographic and technological shifts taking place across the nation and they always rank California in an embarrassing last place at 50th. Back in 2019 when we first started this series, Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, ranked number 7, with a booming business environment. It is now ranked at 10th, but notably in the top 10, and still 40 slots above California.

This year, 2025, Chief Executive reports Texas and Florida once again top the list, with Texas retaining its long-held No. 1 position. “Both Texas and Florida are growing states, in people and infrastructure,” said one CEO respondent. “I think the policies there invite business and make it easy to do business.”tax and property taxes, although they are a little less than California.” . . . More...

There’s No Going Back If NYC Elects Zohran Mamdani

New York elected de Blasio, they are capable of wanting Mamdani. TF

 Victor Davis Hanson

"No, no, no. You can’t deal with Mamdani. You cannot deal with him. If he wins, he’s going to target all of you. And New York is not going to be New York as we knew it."

The Glorious Coming Lessons of the Mamdani Landslide

. . . "You would never get on a plane that was built ignoring the laws of physics and aerodynamics, yet people are going to vote for a person who espouses ideas that have never worked in the history of man. I can’t stop you from eating dirt if that’s what you really want to do, but don’t expect much sympathy from me when you cry that your stomach hurts."

 "John Conlin is an expert in organizational design and change. He also holds a BS in Earth Sciences and an MBA and is the founder and President of E.I.C. Enterprises. He has been published in American Greatness, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, American Thinker, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post, and Public Square Magazine among others."

Jeffries Warns That Donors Behind Trump White House Ballroom Will be Investigated

 Legal Insurrection

“And all of this is going to have to be investigated. It will. All of this will have to be uncovered. It will.”

"In case you haven’t noticed, Democrats are in full-on meltdown mode over Trump’s addition of a ballroom to the White House. Tweets on X accompanied by pictures of the construction decry the project as an assault on the White House and America itself. As usual, it’s completely over the top.

"The rhetoric from Democratic leaders is just as deranged. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries went on MSNBC this week and vowed to investigate the donors who are funding this project.

"Democrats constantly claim that Trump is targeting his enemies, then, in the same breath, vow to do the same."

From Townhall:

Jeffries said, without evidence, that the donors were probably using the donations to curry favor with the Trump administration.

“More likely, this is part of what Donald Trump has been doing since day one of his presidency: running the largest pay-to-play scheme in the history of the country. And probably soliciting donations from people who’ve got business before the United States government,” Jeffries said. . A CNN report from 2010:

$376 million White House renovation during the Obama Administration.

Where was the Democrat outrage then? pic.twitter.com/MvLVDFcTru

— Christian Collins (@CollinsforTX) October 22, 2025

Trump the Builder Improves the White House; Time for his critics to read up on White House history.

I posit that those who condemn Trumps actions seem to be the very crowd chanting that the villains of Oct 7th are the Israelis massacred and raped by Gazans. TD

 The American Spectator  

"Which is to say, all the outraged hoopla over Trump’s reconstruction of the East Wing is nothing more than hoopla from a collection of historical ignoramuses who have zero idea about the changes over the decades — centuries! — to the White House."

"Suddenly — make that again — the Trump critics are aghast.

The reason this time?

"President Trump — the only president in history whose private sector career was centered around building buildings and buying real estate — has gone ahead with a decided upgrade of the East Wing of the White House.

The Trump objective, of course, is to improve the building by replacing the suite of East Wing rooms generally associated with the Office of the First Lady with a serious, major-league ballroom that Presidents will be able to use for official entertainment of good-sized crowds. And, as noted, his critics are, but of course, crazed.

"As a former White House staffer myself, I can certainly attest that, as the old building is currently structured, there is a decided limit to the size of crowds a president can welcome at a time. The famous East Room is not as big as some appear to think, and crowds of visitors, of necessity, spill out into the adjacent Green, Blue, and Red Rooms along with the State Dining Room and the grand Cross Hall.

"Trump, as noted, the sole builder to hold the presidency, has envisioned a considerably larger-sized ballroom that will allow presidents to entertain on a larger scale — something that is routine in the residences of various global heads of state.

"What is remarkable, if not surprising, is the apparent complete lack of knowledge by Trump critics of previous architectural changes to the building by Trump’s many predecessors.

"No one today gives a second thought to the endless flow of stories that reference the Oval Office or the West Wing without understanding that neither was part of the original White House.

"It was all the way back there in the turn of the 20th century — 1902 — that President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the razing of greenhouses that were eventually replaced by what we now know as the “West Wing.” The Oval Office as America has come to know it came to be in the term of TR’s successor, William Howard Taft.

"As the 20th century moved on, it was the polio-stricken President Franklin Roosevelt — for whom swimming was a doctor-recommended method of exercising his paralyzed legs — who had the first White House swimming pool installed. Later — oh the horror! — the pool was drained and covered over by President Nixon, who had it redone into what Americans now see frequently as the White House press room.

"In 1948, during the Harry Truman presidency, a leg of daughter Margaret Truman’s piano fell through the floor in her room. The end result was the realization that the ancient interior of the building — supported by the original wooden beams of the 1800s — would have to be removed, and the original wooden beams holding the building together replaced with modern steel beams.

"Thus began the most massive reconstruction of the building during the Truman era." .More ...

Jeffrey Lord, a contributing editor to The American Spectator, is a former aide to Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp. An author and former CNN commentator, he writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com. His new book, , is now out from Bombardier Books.

Trump Team Eviscerates Schumer After He Tries to Deceive American People About Ballroom

Hoo Boy: Chelsea Clinton Jumps Into the White House Ballroom Debate, and She Really Shouldn't Have

"The White House became my home when I was twelve years old. I always understood that it wasn’t my ‘house’; it was The People’s House."

. . . "The most obvious example of desecration came from Chelsea's father, then-President Bill Clinton, who decided to use the Oval Office for less than moral acts involving an intern and a cigar. The Monica Lewinsky affair would go on to be one of the most remembered scandals in presidential history. But to be sure, the disrespect of "The People's House" under the Clintons went far beyond that. 

"During that time, the Lincoln Bedroom was used as a personal fundraising apparatus, with overnight stays being given out to big Democrat donors as a reward. The Clintons also stole furniture and other household items, having claimed them as "gifts" before leaving the White House. It took a mountain of pressure in the following year for them to eventually return the items. Then there was the stealing of the "W" keys off the keyboards after then-President-Elect George W. Bush won the 2000 election." . . . 

Trump Team Eviscerates Schumer After He Tries to Deceive American People About Ballroom  "How far gone are Democrats? 

"They're focused on protecting illegal aliens and flipping out about renovations at the White House. Not on anything that they're supposed to be doing, like helping to enforce the law or doing things that benefit the American people. 

"President Donald Trump managed to get private donors to agree to help build a ballroom at the White House - a much needed space to hold events. Right now, such events are held in temporary tents. So, you're getting needed permanent space that we, the taxpayers, don't even have to pay for. Democrats should be thanking Trump, but they only know how to attack. 

"White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a reporter during the press briefing on Thursday that this was Trump's main priority, as far as renovations. 

"But then what she said was twisted by a leftist influencer without the qualifier that they were talking about in terms of renovations." . . .   

Democrats Losing It, Issuing 'Warning' to Anyone Funding Trump's Ballroom

Dems Are Mad About Trump's Ballroom Because They're Miserable Scolds Who Hate Fun

 . . . "Democrats are perpetual grievance seekers and grievance mongers. They
love being miserable. They greet sunny days with anger and cloudy days with hopeful scowls. It's in their political DNA. Happy, fulfilled people don't gravitate towards the Democratic Party unless they are concussed." . . . 

No issue is so sinister that the Babylon Bee cannot have a laugh over it:  White House Construction Crew Finds 1,357 More Cocaine Stashes   . . . "Secret Service agents later determined that the powdery substance was actually cocaine and that the construction crew was "as high as a kite." A spokesman revealed that a full investigation was now underway to determine the source of the narcotics. 

" 'I'm just glad it wasn't asbestos," said Carlos Antoine, one of several construction workers on site. "That stuff is dangerous.". . . 

At publishing time, the $250 million White House ballroom renovation had been fully paid off by selling all of the stashed cocaine.

Don't like Trump's White House remodel? See previous demolitions

 President Truman's Renovation - White House Historical Association

Much more here to keep the place from falling down.

5 times the White House underwent major renovations since 1792   "Presidents from Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama have remade parts of the building to their liking. And Harry Truman oversaw a major modernization of the White House, built in 1792.

" 'The South Portico, the North Portico, the East Wing, the West Wing, and the Truman Balcony all raised concerns at the time — but today, we can’t imagine the White House without these iconic elements,” the White House Historical Association said this week.

"However, nothing done in the past matches Trump’s ambitions, Ed Lengel, who served as the chief historian for the White House Historical Association from 2016-18, told The Hill.

"“There’s never been anything like that before. And I think I can say that with total confidence. There’s been nothing on that scale, even close to that scale, has ever been done before,” he said."

"Trump envisions a massive ballroom, paid for by private donors, attached to the East Wing for entertaining world dignitaries and other guests. 

"The White House has hit back at criticism of the project, calling it “a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and renovations from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence.”

"Here’s a timeline of other major White House renovations:" . . . More...

MSNBC would say Trumps remodel is worse than this. Lets walk into the Lincoln Bedroom shall we?

Vintage White House Renovation Photos Show Last Major Upgrade in 1950s - Business Insider

Argus Hamilton remarked: 

President Trump was ripped by mainstream pundits for tearing down the east wall of the White House to build a ballroom funded by Trump and donors. It's nothing new. Richard Nixon built a bowling alley, Barack Obama built a basketball court and Bill Clinton installed mirrors above the beds.

The Lincoln Bedroom: Refurbishing a Famous White House Room - White House Historical Association  

Lincoln Bedroom for contributors controversy (Wikipedia) was an American political controversy in the 1990s during the Clinton Administration. It refers to the alleged selling of overnight stays in the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House in return for political campaign contributions. It occurred in the context of the larger and somewhat separately focused 1996 United States campaign finance controversy. Despite allegations of wrongdoing the justice department never opened an investigation or pressed criminal charges in connection to the Lincoln Bedroom matter.^{[1][2]. . .} 

Mamdani's Grocery

Hakol Sababa

Food lines in soviet union photos "The Soviet Union experienced chronic food shortages for much of its history, often forcing citizens to queue for hours in food lines, which are extensively documented in historical photographs.

From the comments to this post:

"As a USSR born, I’m experiencing PTSD watching this. Very accurate. But the New Yorkers deserve what they vote for. Let them experience the horrors of communism and socialism. They have no idea what coming.

"I had lived only for 7 years in USSR. But I still remember that empty shelves and standing in a line for 2 hours since early morning just to get milk, bread and 1 type of bad cheese. If you are very lucky, you get some sausages without meat as well."