Dwain Northey (Gen X)

The People’s House, Not Trump’s Playground

Ah yes, the White House — the People’s House, the enduring symbol of American democracy. A place where history has been written, decisions have been made, and now, apparently, drywall is being torn down because one man decided his ego needed more square footage.

Yes, Harry Truman once renovated the White House — because it was literally falling apart. Ceilings were collapsing, floors were sagging, and the entire building was about as structurally sound as a toddler’s LEGO tower. Truman’s decision was about safety, preservation, and respect for history. It wasn’t about acoustics for a future “Trump Palace Grand Gala of Gold Leaf and Self-Adoration.”

Other presidents have added things too — modest, human things. A bowling alley. A basketball court. A movie theater. Little perks of life that said, Hey, even leaders need to unwind. But here comes Donald, not to unwind, but to unhouse the East Wing entirely — all in the name of what? A ballroom. Because apparently, nothing screams “public servant” like adding a dance floor large enough to host the next Mar-a-Lago donor soirée.

Let’s be clear: the White House does not belong to any one president. It doesn’t come with a deed. It doesn’t get inherited. It doesn’t have a “Make an Offer” listing on Zillow. It is, and has always been, the People’s House — a residence on loan to whoever temporarily sits behind the Resolute Desk. The president is, at best, a tenant. A renter. And any renter trying to bulldoze an entire wing without the owner’s consent — that’s us, by the way — would be evicted faster than you can say “security deposit.”

And yet here we are. Donald wants to turn the White House into Versailles with Secret Service. He’s not restoring history — he’s rewriting it, in gilded font. Never mind the laws, the public input, or basic historical preservation. No, this is Donald’s America: where democracy is optional, narcissism is policy, and “we the people” are apparently the unpaid contractors of his latest vanity project.

Imagine the audacity: Truman saved the building, Donald wants to gut it. Truman respected the structure, Donald wants to make it a monument to himself. It’s as if someone inherited the Sistine Chapel and said, “You know what this needs? A hot tub.”

So, yes — be outraged. Because tearing down the East Wing without consent isn’t just a renovation. It’s a desecration. A symbolic wrecking ball through the very idea of public trust. The White House belongs to the people — all the people — not to one bloated ego in a red tie with delusions of monarchy.

And when the dust settles — literally — we’ll still be here, the rightful owners of that house. Cleaning up the mess, as we always do, after the tenants move out.