Trump can’t focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House. The move, he claims, will clear the way for a ballroom for holding large events that are typically held in tents on the South Lawn. A debate immediately arose online over whether or not the next Democratic president should tear down the ballroom or keep it, albeit with the necessary extensive renovations to remove all the tackiness Trump brings to any project.

Two months later, it increasingly seems that such discussion was a wasted effort, as the chance this ballroom will actually be built is rapidly disappearing. Perhaps it could have if Trump had delegated the management of the project to someone competent, but that’s not what he did. Instead, the famously lazy and disorganized president decided to blow off his actual governance duties in favor of micromanaging a construction project he is incapable of handling. Finishing the ballroom in the next three years would be difficult for anyone, but it’s quickly becoming clear it will be nearly impossible for the famed real estate tycoon to pull it off.

The whole thing is a too-perfect symbol of Trump’s second administration: They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I bet they can’t get any contractor to work on that, because the Administration has already stiffed the demolition crew and nobody wants to touch a job they will never get paid for.

    • Stern@lemmy.world
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      You need to remember just how stupid some of his base is. There are pickme’s out there who will 100% jump at the chance and think surely Trump won’t stiff them.

      • tempest@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        On a personal level sure, but this isn’t a job for a random one man operation.

        At the top level you need a business and as much as business leaders love Trump (who doesn’t love a useful idiot) they would never risk their bottom line for it.

        All that and the fact that you would likely need a whole bunch of credentials to be building parts of the white house, or at least you likely used to.

        • tempest@lemmy.ca
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          1 month ago

          Actually on second thought I’m an idiot.

          If he actually builds that stupid ballroom he would have to pay for it. Much easier to just take the donations and leave a hole in the ground.

          How could I not see such an obvious grift.

      • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        The secret service still has to let them in though. That might narrow the field quite a bit. At least if the secret service hasn’t been gutted and filled with lackeys that is.

    • bagsy@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      That asshole hasnt paid any bills in decades, i cant believe anyone is still dumb enough to accept a job for this conman.

      • Restaldt@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Well you see there are still plenty construction contractors that happen to be republican.

        And the very fact they are republicans means they never think anything is real or possible until they personally experience it first hand.

        There is a bottomless barrel of idiots for trump to screw over because he hasn’t personally fucked them all…yet

  • TankovayaDiviziya@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

    Typical fascists. It’s all grandiose and talk. If one reads the history of Nazi and fascist policies, they tend to wing it. Fascism is a reaction and antithesis to rationalism. In that sense, why would they have a plan at all? Okay, maybe with Heritage Foundation, they have a plan, but overall it is about regression which ultimately doesn’t make sense apart from being an emotional reaction to caring about lgbt, migrants and social welfare.

    • GreenShimada@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      100% this. All they can do is break. Never create.

      All they can create is ways to attach their names to things others have built.

    • fizzle@quokk.au
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      1 month ago

      LOL.

      If you wanted a secret underground-anything why would you put it under the freakin whitehouse?

      … and of all things a data centre, which would work the same if it were under sydney harbour, or you know… not underground at all, or well… just any of hundreds of existing data centres.

      • modus@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        The article does give a reason, it says it’s to allow “executive oversight.” As if Trump is going to waddle on down there and work on the servers himself.

        • fizzle@quokk.au
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          1 month ago

          That’s super thin. Plenty of things have executive oversight and are not physically under the white house.

          • n0respect@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            That’s opposite of the logic suggested. The logic is that anything at the pres. place must be theirs. “Is there anything at / under the white house that is -not- under executive oversight?” is the relevant question.

            • fizzle@quokk.au
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              1 month ago

              I dont really follow.

              I mean i bet Trump loves that Saudi plane, but that’s not at the white house?

              There’s much better places to keep important things.

              • n0respect@lemmy.world
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                1 month ago

                I think it makes the case much stronger if it’s literally at his house. What if some gov. bureau decides they should have oversight on this data center?

                There are lots of things not at the president’s house that he still has oversight over, but but it’s only some things. However, he does have oversight over everything at his house (I presume, as a knowonothing). It would break tradition to have some other gov. agency to oversee something at the president’s house.

                That’s the implication I draw when asking “why is this datacenter at the WH?”. Not that I think it is a good or correct argument. Just one they would use.

                • fizzle@quokk.au
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                  1 month ago

                  I dont really understand what you’re saying.

                  Suffice to say, IMO its unlikely to be a data centre, but you’re welcome to continue thinking that’s what it is if you wish.

      • Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 month ago

        Exactly, why the hell would they put it underneath the whitehouse itself? There’s already a bunch of existing underground infrastructure there that they would need to work around and all to put their super secret datacenter under the single most likely to be bombed building if the country were ever attacked. Even if they wanted a new datacenter it would make way more sense to build it offsite and just tunnel a few deep redundant data lines to the whitehouse.

        As far as the whole secure underground datacenter thing, we already have them. Nobody I know has ever been inside it but Google runs a secure underground datacenter somewhat near where I live. It’s basically a bunker full of servers burried deep into bedrock exactly like that “article” talks about. Most people don’t even know it’s there. I only know it exists because I know one of the guys that worked on some of the specialized HVAC equipment for it. Of course thats the only one I personally know about but I highly doubt it’s the only one in the country.

      • BanMe@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        The 14th amendment being nullified by SCOTUS won’t provoke much more than some peaceful protests that, at least around here, get minimized by the media. People like my neighbor, a Mexican-American (who fought in Iraq), will be using their dual citizenship to leave, but that’s about it.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      would this even work in dc? the water table is so high, one of the reasons they didn’t build a more extensive bunker complex in the 50s it’s impractical to build anything and then keep it from flooding.

      • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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        1 month ago

        Because data centers also make great crypto mines. And guess who’s currently trying to build their very own crypto empire?

          • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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            1 month ago

            ASIC tech is used in both AI and crypto mining. The reason they work well together is because of the power and cooling infrastructure required for both. Most data centers are designed and equipped to handle either / or.

            • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              No no. The specific ASIC chips used for bitcoin mining are useless for anything else.

              Also Mining rigs use less energy, don’t run hot so require less water than AI GPU servers.

              • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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                1 month ago

                I think you’re missing the point. Data centers can run whatever chips you want. It’s not about the specific chip…it’s about the power and cooling systems needed to run them. You can set up a data center to run anything, in any combination.

                • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  You miss the point. Trump is not covering up a $300m operation with a shoddy ballroom story to run some bitcoin mining hardware. He can host those machines anywhere.

                  The writing of tether and paxos (not bitcoin) are ruining a decent article.

  • ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    Trump has a track record of not paying people. Even court records to prove it. Blows my mind the demo team agreed to do this and now they’re not getting paid. No money, no worky

  • [deleted]@piefed.world
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    1 month ago

    Trump can’t focus long enough, even on his $400 million passion project

    Didn’t it start out under $100 million?

    • Sumocat@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      It started at $200M and as “not affecting the existing structure” and will end as a $900M donation to the Trump presidential library, which will also not be built.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Plot twist: the Trump Presidential library is built in place of the East Wing

        • zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 month ago

          Plot twist 2: The library will only be a small shelf because Trump is effectively illiterate and he will pocket the rest of the money.

          • [deleted]@piefed.world
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            1 month ago

            In a just world the library would be filled with the Epstein files and all of his executive orders with explanations about how they were illegal attempts to legislate from the oval office.

            • zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              1 month ago

              Instead, it probably going to be scrap books of under age girls he raped, a bible (for photo ops while holding it upside down), and Mein Kampf for anti-virtue signaling.

      • D_C@sh.itjust.works
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        1 month ago

        Oh, wow, really? Now I do wonder where all that money will end up…? Hmmm, I bet he will just return it and definitely not pocket it! Oh, no.

  • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    “There is no real direction here, neither lines of power nor cooperation. Decisions are never really made – at best they manage to emerge, from a chaos of peeves, whims, hallucinations and all around assholery.”

  • etherphon@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    They are very good at breaking things, but they don’t know how to create anything of value.

    Yet they’ll still come out richer than ever, what a world.

  • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    In October, Donald Trump traumatized all true patriots by tearing down the East Wing of the White House.

    I hope anyone who experienced this trauma can get the psychological help they clearly need.

      • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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        1 month ago

        Because I don’t clutch pearls over the destruction a piece of a building that was built by slaves and occupied by imperialists and pedophiles, that makes me a “pedophile enabler?”

        • dickalan@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          You’re the type of leftist everybody hates, clutch your Pearls as hard as you can, I don’t even think you’re real I think you’re Russian, being paid to troll and manufacture dissent online

          • OBJECTION!@lemmy.ml
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            1 month ago

            You’re right. How could it be otherwise? Everyone loves America. A real leftist would watch a child talking about how they’ve come to fear sunny days because that’s when the American drones fly, and would belt out, “I’M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, WHERE AT LEAST I KNOW I’M FREE!” It’s literally inconceivable that any actual American would look at all the needless deaths caused by everyone who’s sat in that building since, well ever, and would experience anything but trauma at seeing part of it torn down.

            It’s genuinely sickening to me that any of you liberals, clapping like seals when bombs are dropped on innocents because the news says it’s ok, thinking of yourselves as “true patriots,” and shunning any and all alternate perspectives, abjectly refusing to read any sort of theory - that any of you actually think that you’re some kind of “leftists.”

            • dickalan@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              Oh thank you Professor, your analysis is stunning and your work will be cited for many years on🤣🤣🤣