Trump’s ‘ego project’ ballroom has hit a roadblock ...Middle East

Donald Trump’s vast White House ballroom expansion is facing delays thanks to a deluge of blistering public criticism that likened the design to a “brothel” and a “Vegas casino”.

A final vote on the plans by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the commission overseeing the changes, was due to be held on Thursday, but has been pushed back to 2 April after receiving more than 32,000 public responses – mostly against the project.

The old White House East Wing was demolished last October to clear the way for a lavish new ballroom, which is reportedly set to cost $400 million (£300m) and span 90,000 square feet.

The latest setback comes amid an increasingly dire picture domestically for the President, whose plummeting approval has seen Republicans become increasingly nervous about this November’s midterms – the results of which will shape the latter half of his term in office.

These elections will see vital House and Senate seats contested. A victory in these races for the opposition Democratic Party would considerably hamper the President’s ability to enact his political agenda.

After near-total dominance of the political scene for the first year of his term, Trump has seen increased resistance to his agenda in recent weeks.

His flagship tariff policy was thrown into chaos after the Supreme Court – a third of which was appointed by Trump in his first term – struck down his “liberation day” tariffs last month.

Meanwhile his foreign adventurism in Venezuela and Iran is proving unpopular with voters, in particular his America First base who want him to focus on domestic issues.

A Fox News poll found that 57 per cent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s current job performance, with six in ten voters saying he is focused on the wrong issues.

Postponed ballroom a ‘perfect metaphor’

Experts described the ballroom delay as a “perfect metaphor” for the President’s cratering public approval and weaking grip on power.

“There definitely is a conflation between general negative sentiment to Trump and the ballroom,” Dr Louis Bromfield of Swansea University told The i Paper.

“Primarily, the ballroom is transparently grand, expensive and ostentatious. The implementation of it flies laughably in the face of the cost of living issues many Americans are facing.

“There is an almost depressingly comical contrast between the luxurious spending and gold-covered decoration of the Trump White House and the harsh reality on the ground for millions of Americans.”

Only one person spoke in support of the President’s ballroom plans at Thursday’s meeting, CNN has reported, with dozens of experts and members of the public voicing their opposition to the proposals.

The broadcaster’s analysis found that 97 per cent of feedback from 9,000 pages of public comments was against the project.

Objectors slammed it as “authoritarian self-aggrandisement” and a “Trumpification” of the White House, calling the designs a “complete razing of American history”.

One person said: “I am outraged that this monstrous ballroom was designed and the construction of the original without any approval. This is the people’s house and should have been authorised by the people.”

Another described the ballroom as a “gold, gilded edifice to one man’s ego, an architectural ascent to his self-identification as a royal monarch”.

The commission’s chair Will Scharf told the meeting it would “take the time to deliberate” and hold a final vote in April.

Ahead of the meeting, the NCPC executive director recommended the approval of “the preliminary and final site and building plans for the East Wing Modernisation Project located on the grounds of the White House”.

The President recently appointed several loyalists to sit on the NCPC, which is responsible for key planning decisions in Washington DC.

Ultiamte approval would come from the federal Commission of Fine Arts, where Trump has also installed political allies.

The President has claimed that the ballroom project will be funded by private donors.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The New York Times that the scathing comments opposing the ballroom were “stemming from an organised campaign of Trump-deranged liberals who clearly have no style or taste”.

‘Trump’s grip on his party is slipping’

Dr Bromfield said: “I personally believe that Trump’s grip on the GOP is slipping, and the ballrom is a perfect metaphor for this.

“Trump could not be more polarising. I usually see complete condemnation mirrored by unwavering support from Maga, but I do not see the latter with the ballroom.”

Dr Bromfield said: “As it stands, I would assert that Trump is the weakest he’s ever been since he took office in 2016.

“His base is splintering, he has never been so unpopular, and his actions today are undermining some of the messages that resonated with voters the most on the campaign trail.”

Dr Bromfield highlighted several factors that are contributing to Trump’s declining favourability, including his failures on the cost of living, the chaotic release of the Epstein files, and the intervention in Iran undermining his pledge to end “forever wars”.

“Whether or not the decision to go with Israel into war with Iran is a deflection from a catastrophically dire domestic political situation is up for debate, but I would argue it’s certainly not being done because things at home are rosy,” he said.

Dr Georgios Samaras of King’s College London told The i Paper: “If this pattern continues, no one should be surprised if Trump resorts to bombing other countries whenever domestic pressure mounts. This is distraction through violence.”

While the Maga base has often been characterised as isolationist, Professor Angelia Wilson of the University of Manchester noted that “public opinion about Trump shifts over time and is fluid depending on the topic.”

She added: “As long as military activity is limited geographically, doesn’t involve troops on the ground and is portrayed on conservative news as ‘winning’ then they will tolerate it for a while.”

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans voted down an attempt to force Trump to seek the permission of Congress before continuing to prosecute his war against Iran.

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Dr Dafydd Townley from the University of Portsmouth’s Military Education Team told The i Paper this vote shows Trump still broadly has control of his party, but that many Republicans were liable to change their stance if military action becomes prolonged.

“Within his party, there is a split between hawks who are eager to seize this opportunity to minimise Iran’s influence in the region, and Maga Republicans who are concerned at potentially being dragged into forever wars,” Dr Townley said.

“If Trump does want to improve his job approval rating, then he should recognise that the American public is dissatisfied with his handling of the economy, where he is being criticised for poor job creation and the cost-of-living.

“The potential long-term increase in oil and gas prices will not be welcomed by Americans.

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