Trump has a sad.
This is a crazy person
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) April 16, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Yep, some federal judge is not letting Trump build his ballroom
A federal judge set new limits on President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, saying construction could proceed only on an underground portion of the project deemed necessary by the military, and not on the 90,000-square-foot aboveground addition that Trump has eyed to entertain VIP guests.
“National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote Thursday. He said the Trump administration could also take steps to secure the construction site to make it safe for people on the White House grounds, to protect the structural integrity of the building and to shield the underground work.
Also, too:
Leon chastised the Trump administration for its “incredible, if not disingenuous” interpretation of his order last month to halt work on Trump’s planned $400 million project until the president obtains authorization from Congress.
The judge’s original orderallowed the White House to do further construction to ensure “the safety and security of the White House” after officials said work on an underground emergency bunker was necessary to protect the president, his family and his staff.
Trump argued that Leon’s order allowed him to keep building the ballroom, too, citing his plans to add bulletproof glass, bomb shelters and other security features to the building.
Trump destroyed the old White House underground bunker when he destroyed the East Wing. The judge is letting him build a new and improved underground bunker, but not the ballroom.
The feud with the Pope continues. Trump is now claiming that Pope Leo said Iran could have nuclear weapons. Of course, he said no such thing. Leo has put out a new statement saying that “our Father’s heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant, or the proud.” Did you have anyone in mind, Your Holiness?
Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President J.D. Vance have both made fools of themselves presuming to lecture the Pope on theology. See also Pope James David Vance the First by Tom Nichols at The Atlantic.
Perhaps Trump ought to be worried that feuding with the Pope could cut into his support among Latinos. But never fear; Texas Republicans have a plan. See Josh Kovensky at TPM, Inside Texas Republicans’ Effort to Make the Midterms About Islamophobia.
Powerful officials like Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have made targeting Islam and the Muslim community a priority. Abbott has singled out a Dallas-area mosque with ambitious expansion plans, the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), while Paxton has followed up with investigations into EPIC as he promises to fight “Sharia law.”
Local activists cast their fight against Islam as a crusade to preserve the Christian America that they know and love. Several of them told TPM that Islam poses a threat to their future. They’re not only echoing messaging from national politicians about the threat of Islam; they’re acting on it.
“This has national potential,” Vinny Minchillo, a Republican consultant based in Plano, Texas, told TPM. “If you are a Republican candidate, you would like to not be talking about the economy right now. So this gives you an opportunity to control the debate and move it from economy to problems with Islam. That’s something you are gonna want to do.”
The population of Texas is less than 2 percent Muslim, and nearly all the Muslims in Texas live in the Dallas and Houston areas, I understand. And I have yet to meet anybody hysterical over “Sharia law” who knows what it even is. But yeah, the economy is going to hell and everybody is pissed at Trump, so let’s get the yahoos afraid of Muslims. And if some of the yahoos burn down the mosques, that’s just too bad, isn’t it?
And the yahoos will probably be torching Sikh gurdwaras since anyone wearing a turban must be Muslim.
Crank this into the equation – from three days ago. Kinda puts a dent into Islamophobia and genocide for the Pope to visit a major mosque with a message of peace. Especially when the main plank of the GOP is a religious war seasoned with a nuclear strike.
https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/pope-leo-arrives-algeria-preaching-harmony-visits-mosque
I'm glad the toddler is worked up about the ballroom. Give him his toys, get him away from anything that matters.
I'm loving the pushback from Pope Leo. People have been pointing out that Hegseth recited a prayer, which asks for terror to rain down on enemies. Problem is, it's not from Ezekiel as Hegsbreath claimed, but from "Pulp Fiction".
This is what I want to see. Fundies know the bible extremely well. Everytime Trump and his cabal blaspheme, every time Pope Leo punches back, the fog around the fundies starts to crack. The rusty wheels of critical thinking start to turn.
Help me out, fellow commenters:
Am I going too far to think that it is a potential high security risk to allow this administration to oversee the design and construction of the new bunker under the White House east wing. I mean, we're talking about a man who demonstrated at the end of his last term that he feels entitled to take any top secret documents with him when his term is over, if he thinks that he can monetize them. Do we really want the details of that bunker put on the market to the highest bidder? Will we need to demolish the bunker once he's out and redesign it in a way that makes the stolen documents useless?
Please comment whether or not you think my imagination is too active.
@WaryTale – IMO it's not just the bunker that's problematic, but the entire White House. The whole place is bugged and is woefully out of date from many different viewpoints. When the adults return, I'd like to see a comprehensive project to tear it all down and start over. It could be billed as a restoration – the end result can look like the White House we've always known, but with completely modern internals.
Trump may have done us a favor with his demolition.
Thanks, Moonbat. Interesting perspective. Regarding the idea of tearing down the entire White House complex:
When I was in London something like 2007, I visited the Churchill War Rooms museum. It was a remarkable experience. The actual war rooms bunker that was used during the bombing of London was preserved after the war and eventually turned into a museum.
The White House itself (not including the east and west wings that were both there before the illegal demolition of the east wing) has a long history which I think is worth preserving after it is "put out to pasture".
Try this link :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_War_Rooms
Didn't we take down Saddam Hussein some years ago. I vaguely remember something about it, except that now we seem to have our own Baghdad Bob blithering threats and building tacky palaces with faux gilt walls. Why does this all seem so familiar?