Demolition workers on Monday began ripping down the section
of the White House that holds offices for the first lady and staff. Trump
announced that ground had been broken on the project after images of demolition
circulated in news reports, though the full extent of the tear-down only became
clear two days later.
On July 31, Trump had told reporters "It won't interfere with the current building. It'll be near it but no touching it and pay total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of."
The construction will consume most of the remainder of Donald's current term and, according to a President incentivized to downgrade the eventual cost, will cost approximately $300 million dollars. It will be constructed to Trump's liking and is not a building he's planning to vacate in January, 2029. But not a king.
On Tuesday, October 21, the President
suggested he’s entitled to compensation from the federal government over investigations he faced that he claims were politically motivated. Now, the Justice Department that Trump has exerted control over could approve a hefty payout in taxpayer dollars.
The Republican president’s comments in the Oval Office on Tuesday have put a spotlight on a law through which people can seek damages if they believe they were wronged by the federal government.
But the potential that the president might take taxpayer money from the same government he leads has raised numerous ethical questions, especially since Trump has made cutting federal spending a top administration priority.
If the President wants it, Attorney General Pam Puppet Bondi will turn that money over to Trump in a New York minute. In accepting payment, the President would be violating the domestic emoluments clause, Article 1, Section 1, Clause 7 of the US Constitution, which reads
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period an other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
(The Founding Fathers were not very Good at Capitalization.)
No worries, though, about the Constitution. Donald evidently has that covered because he remarked
It's interesting, because I'm the one that makes a decision, right? And you know that decision would have to go across my desk, and it's awfully strange to make a decision where I'm paying myself. In other words, did you ever have one of those cases here you have to decide how much you're paying yourself in damages? But I was damaged very greatly, and any money that I would get, I would give to charity.
Charity, as in the Trump Foundation or the Trump Wealth Accumulation Fund. That is, however, a little off-point. Accepting money from the federal government would violate the Constitution. "I'm the one that makes that decision" is an acknowledgment, albeit braggadocio, of reality: Pam Bondi exists to serve Daddy.
But this "and you know that decision would have to go across my desk." Not by tradition and not by Constitution would it.
Trump: "It looks like we're gonna have a Communist as the mayor of New York. But here's the good news -- he's gotta go through the White House. Everything goes through the White House. At least this White House it does." pic.twitter.com/bJ5oYlQcd5
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 21, 2025
Everything goes through the White House. But not a king.
To be sure- and to be fair- there were No Kings protests which Representative emmer and his fellow travelers might consider Hate America protests. Boise, Idaho; Old Towne Alexandria in Virginia; San Diego; Greenville, South Carolina; Olympia, Washington; New Orleans; and elsewhere.
Consider Missoula, Montana:
And Staunton, Virginia:
"America the Beautiful" was sung in New Orleans, where one female protester held what was undoubtedly one of the best signs anywhere in the country. "My father fought fascism in World War II," it read. "Now I will."
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