President Trump defended his White House renovations during a time of economic turmoil as necessary for keeping the 233-year old building upright, claiming in a new interview that the executive mansion was “actually dangerous.”
asserted
mansion → defend → interview
The doors were falling off.
asserted
doors → fall → ?
The locks were broken.
asserted
locks → break → ?
And I said, ‘I got to fix it.’
asserted
I → say → it
And I do that better than anybody else,” the president told Time magazine of his work.
asserted
president → do → work
Trump also told his interviewers that the Secret Service wanted to tear down the Oval Office, although he didn’t explain why.
asserted
he → tell → Office
“I see the Secret Service looking, and I say, ‘What are you guys looking at?’
asserted
guys → see → What
‘Sir, we think the Oval Office should be taken down, and we’ll build a new one, sir.’
asserted
we → think → one
I said, ‘My a–, you can’t build a new one.
asserted
you → say → one
This is a special place,’” he recounted.
asserted
he → recount → ?
Trump further revealed he’s been asking White House chief of staff Susie Wiles about the possibility of making the presidential office a national historic landmark.
asserted
office → reveal → possibility
The president repeatedly defended his actions during the 75-minute interview, at one point having an aide fetch old photos of the White House so he could point out where it needed to be repaired.
uncertain
it → defend → House
I made it beautiful,” he said.
asserted
he → make → ?
The Oval Office is one of many areas of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that Trump has remade to his liking.
asserted
Trump → remake → liking
The presidential office has been gilded in gold and the walls covered in painted portraits.
asserted
walls → gild → portraits
The president also turned the Rose Garden into a replica of the patio at Mar-a-Lago, complete with a concrete floor and tables with yellow umbrellas, where he holds regular dinners with supporters in the “Rose Garden Club.”
asserted
he → turn → Club
The colonnade surrounding the garden was remade into the Presidential Walk of Fame, featuring portraits of 44 of Trump’s predecessors and an autopen.
asserted
colonnade → surround → predecessors
In the most ambitious and controversial project, the president tore down the East Wing to replace it with a 90,000 square foot ballroom.
asserted
president → tear → ballroom
The five-story building will include an updated military command center, a hospital, office space and a drone port, while Trump also told Time that one side of the ballroom will be made entirely of glass six to eight inches thick.
asserted
side → include → glass
“The steel goes up next week,” he said of the work, which is expected to be completed in August 2027.
asserted
which → go → August
Trump has also built a new granite helipad on the South Lawn — designed to hold the heavier weight of the new Marine One chopper, which he said had “ripped the s— out of the grass.”
asserted
he → build → grass
“It’s easy for me,” Trump, who got his start in New York real estate, described his projects.
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who → ’ → projects
“It’s actually relaxing.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
You know, for a lot of people, it drives them crazy.
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it → know → them
For me, it’s relaxing.
asserted
it → ’ → me
The president has also justified his renovation work by insisting that US taxpayers are not on the hook for the costs.
asserted
taxpayers → justify → costs
The $400 million ballroom was paid for by private donations and the $10 million cost of the helipad was covered by Lockheed Martin, which built the Sikorsky VH-92A Patriot that serves as Marine One.
asserted
that → pay → Marine
“I pay for a lot of it, but I fix it because the White House should look like that.
asserted
House → pay → that
It shouldn’t look like—if you would have stood in that balcony and looked at that wall, half the wall was falling,” Trump ranted late in the sitdown.
asserted
Trump → look → sitdown
“It’s actually dangerous.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
People are walking under, crap was falling off it all the time.
asserted
crap → walk → it
Every time it rained, it was leaking, horrible.
asserted
it → rain → ?
Now it’s perfect.”
asserted
it → ’ → ?
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued over the ballroom construction but the Supreme Court said work could continue as the case makes its way through the legal system.
uncertain
case → sue → system
Trump also declined to rule out tearing down the Kennedy Center, with his plans for the performing arts center subject to a lawsuit claiming he needs permission from Congress to make any changes.
asserted
he → decline → changes
“It’s in terrible shape.
asserted
It → ’ → shape
I’d be willing to save it, but it’s in terrible, terrible shape.
asserted
it → save → shape
Only I can save it,” he told Time.
asserted
he → save → Time
“I’m a really good builder.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
I can fix it.
asserted
I → fix → it
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
