The National Capital Planning Commission was meant to vote on Trump’s big plan today, but instead, they said the vote will happen later, on April 2nd. They said the reason was because of a lot of public comments.
That public feedback was really harsh.
CNN said the Commission got over 32,000 comments. Of those, 9,000 were shared, and about 97% of them were against the construction. Some people even called the building a “brothel,” a “soulless hotel conference space,” and a “Vegas casino.” Words like “obscene,” “low class,” “disgusting,” “cheap,” and “garish” were used a lot.
One person wrote that the ballroom “not only makes the building look unbalanced but also shows a bad side of what America stands for, going against the values of equality and humility left by the founding fathers.”
Kate Schwennsen, the former national president of the American Institute of Architects, said, “If any of my students had sent this Ballroom design to the White House like this, I would have given them a failing grade.”
It’s no surprise that many people are strongly against Trump — a man known for creating flashy, ugly, gold-covered buildings — trying to leave a lasting mark in the People’s House.
Besides being tasteless, this also shows a lot of corruption, since big companies are paying for the project to gain favor with his government.
The delay in the vote is important because Trump filled the 12-member commission with people who only support him.
If they aren’t moving forward quickly, it means there’s a lot of resistance. While it’s possible the project will still get approved, this small delay shows that public opinion still has power. We need to get more upset and push back harder. If the courts step in, the project could be stopped completely.
Many comments the commission saw also asked that Trump rebuild the East Wing exactly as it was before he tore it down.
We think that’s a great idea.
Clearly, people’s opinions matter.
So speak up!
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