Trump’s grand White House ballroom brings to mind the classic words of British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure dome decree.”

It takes an incredibly vivid image to make a big media splash and create a hot political controversy when social media reigns supreme. The graphic photo of the ruins and rubble remains of the late, great East Wing of the White House did the trick.

Timing is everything in politics, and President Trump’s timing could not have been worse. The destruction and remodeling to make room for an opulent ballroom for fine dining and fancy dancing comes in the midst of a government shutdown that has denied essential services to millions of Americans. This travesty comes right after millions of Americans marched on No Kings Day to protest Trump’s imperial presidency. Trump denies he is a king, but he is building a place on the Potomac.

Americans have their own priorities and they don’t match........

© The Hill