Donald Trump met his rich allies at a candlelit dinner to thank them for donating to his $200 million White House State Ballroom project. During the same event, he announced another privately funded project while the U.S. government is half a month into a shutdown without resolution.
As more federal workers continue to be fired and the furloughed workers remain unsure of receiving back pay despite the law, Trump continues to pour millions of dollars into fancy projects. On Oct. 15, he met with 130 major donors from tech firms such as Amazon, Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Palantir, and defense giant Lockheed Martin, for a fundraising dinner in the White House East Room, all while common Americans continue to face financial restraints because of the shutdown.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will be the biggest addition in the series of renovations made to the White House since Trump returned for a second term in January. He previously covered the Oval Office with gold decor and paved over the Rose Garden to create a patio space with picnic tables and umbrellas. However, right after donations for the Ballroom were completed, Trump announced his next million-dollar project: an Arc de Triomphe-style monument.
Officially called the “Independence Arch,” the proposed grand triumphal arch has been nicknamed “Arc de Trump” and will be built in Washington, linking the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. The monument’s inauguration will commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. During the dinner, Trump also showcased a model of the arch and three size options, exclaiming, “I happen to think the large by far looks the best.”
While he is trying his best to portray the constructions as a gift to the country, he accidentally revealed his personal interests while speaking to a CBS reporter, Ed O’Keefe. When he asked Trump who the arch was for, he quickly replied, “Me. It’s going to be beautiful.” (via GovFacts) The monument will be funded with “leftover funds” from the ballroom project, at a time when hundreds of thousands of federal employees are uncertain about their next paycheck.
While some may argue that these projects will benefit future administrations, Trump’s lavish undertakings when essential services in the country are grinding to a halt are nothing more than tone-deaf. As the shutdown continues to stretch on, Trump has again asserted that the government may stop, but his empire never will.
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