Is the President King? The Multi-Million Dollar Makeover of Washington for America's 250th

By Dr. Delphine Aso

WASHINGTON 

As the United States prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence this Fourth of July, the nation's capital is undergoing an extravagant, multi-million dollar transformation. Critics argue that President Donald Trump is blurring the line between national commemoration and personal branding,  turning the historic anniversary into what one political scientist described as an "ego fest."

A Staggering Price Tag for "Trump Town".

From day one of his second term, Trump has been putting his mark on Washington D.C. in granite, gold, and oversized portraits, even at the Department of Justice, an institution traditionally independent from the presidency. The most significant and costly alterations have occurred at the White House itself. The historic Rose Garden has been paved over, the Oval Office filled with gilded decor, and the entire East Wing demolished to make way for a new ballroom.

According to a Washington Post investigation cited by Channel 4 News, the White House renovation price tag has ballooned from $200 million to $600 million. Despite the president's promise the project would be taxpayer-free, U.S. Democrats warn the American public will foot at least half the bill.

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has become another flashpoint. What the president introduced in April as a $1.5 million project quietly ballooned to over $14 million — and instead of the promised patriotic blue, the water turned green, filled with algae. Plans to build a massive arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery have also stalled, blocked by congressional and legal hurdles including a lawsuit from Vietnam veterans who say it disrespects those buried at Arlington.

Beyond Washington, the president has announced plans to place his name and face on national currency, passports, dollar bills, and gold coins. A federal judge has already intervened, ordering Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"He Is Not a King"

Political scientist Scott Lucas of University College Dublin told Channel 4 News the president has not merely upended the tradition of monuments commemorating the nation rather than individual leaders. "he has ripped it apart and stomped on it." Lucas invoked the French phrase L'état, c'est moi, the state, it is me, arguing that for Trump, America's 250th birthday is simply about him.

Lucas also pointed to the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits a president from profiting from the office, noting that Trump has reportedly made $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency during his presidency and recently accepted a 747 aircraft gifted by the government of Qatar.

 A Diversion from Real Problems

Max Boot, historian and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was equally scathing in his assessment to Channel 4 News. "I don't think anybody in America other than Donald Trump looks around and says the problem with America today is that we don't have enough monuments in Washington," Boot said, arguing the projects are a distraction from real issues including affordability, immigration, and foreign policy.

Boot drew a sharp contrast with Ronald Reagan, a president who also understood image and performance, but whose Oval Office plaque read: There's no limit to what you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.Trump, Boot argued, cares only about attention, self-promotion, and profit. He noted that no previous president has ever attempted to profit from the office in the way Trump has, having made more than $2 billion in his first year back, more than he ever made before in his life.

Boot predicted that many of Trump's Washington projects will be short-lived. "Trump's attempts to put his name everywhere, because they're not being sanctioned by Congress, they're not being legislated by lawmakers, they will be very transitory," he said. "It's kind of staggering the amount of energy and effort he's expending to do things that will likely disappear within two and a half years."

Source DW Africa

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