I remember as a teenager walking through room after room of The Hermitage—the Russian tsars’ massive palace in St. Petersburg—and being struck by how much gold there was everywhere. Golden carriages. Golden statues. Golden thrones. Gild lining the doors and walls. Gold, gold, gold. It was overwhelming for a boy from Chicago, and it led me to think: So this is one reason why the Russian Revolution happened in 1917. The people were struggling to eat and the Russian royalty was lavishing itself with obscene wealth and luxury. The contrast was ultimately intolerable.
Over the last months, we have seen Donald Trump—who worships gold not the American values he pledged to uphold—slather the walls and shelves of our Oval Office with his crass, gilded ornaments. We have watched him take a $400 million bribe in the form of a gold-adorned 747 jet from the royals of Qatar with its renovation into Air Force One estimated to cost upwards of a billion dollars. He has spent tens of millions of dollars for his constant golfing, including his recent embarrassment in Scotland.
Now he’s announced plans to spend $200 million to build a lavish ballroom adjacent to our White House—a 90,000-square-foot golden monument that will dwarf the size of the White House (55,000 square feet). His people say it’s to accommodate larger gatherings—enough space for 650—but remind me how many state dinners or cultural events that celebrate our country have ever happened while this man has held office. Its goal is clear: This will be, Trump told reporters on Thursday, “a great legacy project.”
All this self-aggrandizement comes in the wake of a big ugly bill that cuts about a trillion dollars from Medicaid and Medicare, steals health care from more than 10 million Americans and takes away food assistance from more than 22 million Americans—part of the “necessary” cost-cutting to fund trillions in tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. All these luxuries are expected to be tolerated, even adored, as Trump’s foolish tariff policies are driving up prices and making everyday living harder.
And all this self-dealing by Trump and his billionaire oligarchs comes amid rising income inequality. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of all Americans from last December found that income inequality was cited as the second most pressing issue after immigration; we’ve seen exactly how much Donald Trump cares about addressing the gap between rich and poor. (A 2021 Federal Reserve analysis found that the top 1 percent possess 31 percent of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 50 percent held 2.6 percent.)
That brings me to this day’s question: How many golden calves will we the people tolerate? Put another way, is Trump’s focus on enriching himself and his fellow oligarchs something that Americans will continue to swallow? How many false idols—gold, monuments and Trump himself—do Americans want to worship? Could this be the trigger for rising social unrest and mass protest? Is there a breaking point?
Maybe you’d like to address your view of his golden idolatry and his obscene materialism and demeaning self-service. Perhaps you’d prefer to comment on the struggle to make ends meet at a time when our nation boasts extraordinary wealth. Or maybe you’d like to reflect on what it means for our country when democracy has been taken over by oligarchs and kleptocrats who are more than happy to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.
As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.
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We the People don’t want a golden ballroom, we want universal healthcare, income equality and women’s bodily autonomy. It’s bad enough that he has turned the Oval Office into a bordello anteroom. A 90,000 square foot room replacing part of the People’s House is an affront to our sensibilities.
It doesn't seem to matter that I don't tolerate any of this. Nothing is stopping this man. Those who could won't.