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The upshot of the White House Correspondents’ Association’s limp decision to invite Donald Trump to its annual dinner has been to fuel a Republican propaganda blitz.
For those just tuning in, the event attracted an armed man who tried to rush past the security perimeter, failed, and was captured far outside the dinner hall. But he got close enough for Trump to play martyr and for his retinue of hangers-on to promote a new White House message: Trump needs his palace ballroom expedited, for national-security reasons.
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I’ll explain why this position is stupid on the merits in a moment, but first let’s examine why Republicans seem so set on squandering whatever political good will they might have earned by transforming this into a fight over Trump’s ballroom.
The ballroom is Trump’s only real fixation, and he’s frustrated to have run up against legal obstacles. Nobody ever authorized him to demolish part of the White House or build anything new on the grounds. That’s what’s ultimately driving this. But Republicans in Congress had tried to keep arm’s length from the whole project until now. And I think their sudden enthusiasm for joining this particular political fight has less to do with any supposed threat to Trump than with resetting the game board after a series recent defeats. Most pointedly, the gerrymandering race-to-the-bottom Trump kicked off in Texas last year.
Confused? Let’s discuss further.
The lopsided Democratic map Virginia voters passed last week had the literal effect of neutralizing Republican efforts to rig the 2026 midterms in the tally of redrawn districts. But the practical effect was symbolic. ...
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