…If the destruction of the #EastWing is a shock, the #money that’s paying for it might be even more of a #scandal. The #WhiteHouse, eager to assure Americans that their tax dollars have not been diverted for a #vanity project, has emphasized that the #ballroom is being financed by individuals & major #corporations. Instead of going through a process to obtain & disburse federal funds, #Trump simply asked companies his admin is supposed to be #regulating to write checks [ #bribery / #extortion].
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#Trump is finishing what the British started. Despite promises that the #WhiteHouse would be unaffected by the addition of a $230 million #ballroom, the #historic #EastWing has in fact been demolished. The images of the site are so jarring that the #Treasury Department has reportedly ordered its employees to stop taking photos of it.
…If the destruction of the #EastWing is a shock, the #money that’s paying for it might be even more of a #scandal. The #WhiteHouse, eager to assure Americans that their tax dollars have not been diverted for a #vanity project, has emphasized that the #ballroom is being financed by individuals & major #corporations. Instead of going through a process to obtain & disburse federal funds, #Trump simply asked companies his admin is supposed to be #regulating to write checks [ #bribery / #extortion].
The list of donors released by the #WhiteHouse includes the usual deep-pocketed #Republicans, such as #casino magnate #MiriamAdelson & private-equity mogul #StephenSchwarzman, but also a host of companies whose leaders have huge incentives to maintain good relations with an often vindictive head of state. They include #telecom giants & the #railroad giant Union-Pacific—which needs the #Trump admin’s sign-off on a proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern.
Then there’s the #tech companies — #Google, #Apple, #Microsoft, #Amazon, & #Meta.
The tech companies themselves have been awfully quiet about the project they’re helping to underwrite. Just to make sure they hadn’t missed it, MJ sent a photo of the demolished #EastWing — & requests for comment — to representatives of all of these companies. A Microsoft spox confirmed the company had made a contribution but offered no further comment. None of the others responded.
But #BigTech’s donations for #Trump’s pet cause come at a time when the industry’s giants have a lot riding on their relationships with the #WhiteHouse. In a marked shift from Trump’s first term, #tech leaders have spent most of the last 12 months singing the president’s praises as they navigate #antitrust cases, #tariffs, & #regulatory hurdles; fight for #contracts; & push for #policies that benefit their bottom lines.
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