Maybe it's just the algorithms on websites that I visit serving up what they think I'll be far more interested in, but I feel like I've heard a lot more pearl-clutching from Democrats over the Trump ballroom than I have about the government shutdown.
I would say that it's not exactly something I'd say is worth getting mad about. In fact, it should be considered a great thing since the East Wing of the White House wasn't just outdated, it was too small to host modern gatherings and meet security needs. The White House relied more on event tents when more room was needed, and while it was quick and cheap, it doesn't exactly speak to the grandeur of the most powerful nation in the world.
With this new 90,000-square-foot ballroom, we're looking at a permanent addition for large-scale events, receptions, and more. If anything, the East Wing was overdue for a renovation. Trump, being Trump, was the guy who pulled the trigger on it, because that's what Trump does. He builds things.
Yet, Democrats seem infuriated by this. They act like Trump desecrating something sacred by tearing down the East Wing to build something gaudy and unnecessary. That's rich coming from Democrats who live large on taxpayer money. Nancy Pelosi spent over $100,000 on food and alcohol over two years, paid for by taxpayers as she flew back and forth on luxury Air Force jets between D.C. and San Francisco. Recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders, it was revealed, had spent thousands and thousands of dollars on private jets during his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour.
As I've said repeatedly, the Democrat Party's unofficial motto is "It's okay when we do it."
Moreover, it's like Democrats are strangers to renovating the White House. Remember that time Barack Obama spent almost $400 million of taxpayer money to renovate the White House. CNN doesn't want you to remember, but they reported on it with big smiles.
BREAKING - A 2010 CNN clip of Obama’s $376 million White House renovation, fully funded by taxpayers unlike President Trump’s $250 million ballroom he’s paying for himself, is going viral as viewers call out Democrat hypocrisy and fake outrage.pic.twitter.com/EDkMISv5ic
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) October 23, 2025
Read: Watch: Legacy Media Is All Smiles When Presidents Renovating the WH Are Democrats
So no, I don't think that Democrats are actually mad about the ballroom.
But they do find it useful to them, because right now, the ballroom is an easy target to get hyper upset about when paired with the shutdown.
That seems odd, seeing as how the shutdown is their fault, but the ballroom is an easy thing to distract people with. For one, they don't want you to know it's being privately funded. The more people think Trump is throwing around taxpayer dollars for his own amusement as federal workers go unpaid, the better.
Moreover, they don't want you to see that they're the ones keeping the doors closed, not Republicans. As my colleague Bob Hoge reported, Speaker Mike Johnson made it clear that it takes only five Democrats to vote to open the government, but they're refusing so they can please the Marxists in their base:
Instead, they’re pushing a crazy counterproposal that puts the American people LAST: free health care for illegal aliens, billions for foreign projects, and handouts to leftist media outlets.
This shutdown is a “leverage” game for them to look tough to their Marxist base, and the American people won’t forget being used.
Read: Meting Out the Pain: Senate Dems Nuke Pay Bill for Government Workers
He's not wrong, and the shutdown gives them "leverage" that they otherwise wouldn't have due to their lack of support and voting power. Leverage isn't even Johnson's word. It's House Democrat Katherine Clark's, who said that families are going to suffer because "It is one of the few leverage times we have."
🚨 HOLY SMOKES! In a SHOCKING MOVE, the number two House Democrat Katherine Clark said the quiet part out loud regarding the shutdown...SUFFERING is their tool
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 22, 2025
"Of COURSE there will be families that are going to suffer! [...] It is one of the FEW leverage times we have."
🤯 pic.twitter.com/7m3AOLUWQj
The ballroom is a nothing burger. It's hardly a mole hill, but the Democrats need it to be a mountain of outrage because otherwise, their narrative that they're the good guys during this shutdown would be crumbling apart.
If anything, the Democrats are furious that they didn't do the ballroom idea themselves.
