New photo shows extent of damage Trump has done to the White House

[Swede]

For absolutely no reason other than his huge ego and small brain.



https://www.reddit.com/r/somethingiswrong2024/s/lfy9U8rA68

[QueerDuck]

1. Ghastly. It's a fucking horror show!

[Hieronymus Phact]

18. Why the fuck can't democrats make hay out of this?

[QueerDuck]

20. We have to pick the battles that actually win elections.

It is easy to look at a photograph and demand that leadership turn it into a political weapon, but I think we have to look at the bigger picture.

I think it's a mistake for anyone to be framing our leadership as weak (or timid or ineffective) simply because they aren't holding press conferences about property damage. This ignores the reality of what actually moves voters. Also, I think it only serves to diminish what we're actually doing.

As involved political junkies, of course this stuff horrifies us. But in a frontline election cycle, voters care about inflation, reproductive rights, healthcare, and national security.

Focusing national messaging on a landscape photo would make the party look performative and distracted. Leadership is fighting exactly where it matters most: on the legislative floor and in organizing the ground game to win back our majorities.

[Hieronymus Phact]

45. True, but...

"As involved political junkies, of course this stuff horrifies us. But in a frontline election cycle, voters care about inflation, reproductive rights, healthcare, and national security."

That's not wrong, people do care about kitchen table issues, but 2 things can be true at once.
They can also be horrified about this and it can sway peoples vote.
We are an affluent society, there are plenty of people who care more about this than boring healthcare.

it just can't be ignored, republicans wouldn't ignore it if a Democrat did this.

[QueerDuck]

46. Two things can be true, but only one of them wins an election.

I never said two things can't be true at once. Of course people can be simultaneously horrified by the lawn and worried about their finances. But campaigns operate in a world of finite resources—limited hours, limited ad dollars, and limited voter attention spans.

We have to look at the cold reality of how campaigns actually work:

The "Affluent" Fallacy: Dismissing healthcare as "boring" because we are an "affluent society" completely ignores the very voters we need to flip swing districts. Working-class families, independents, and marginalized communities don't view healthcare, prescription costs, or reproductive rights as "boring" .... they view them as matters of survival.

Preaching to the Choir: The voters who are deeply offended by the state of the White House lawn are already voting for us. Shaming and scolding Republicans might feel incredibly satisfying to the base, but it does absolutely nothing to expand our coalition.

The "So What?" Factor: If a campaign spends its limited ad budget on landscape photos, a moderate independent might shake their head and think, "Wow, that's terrible." But it leaves them completely in the dark about how a Democratic majority will actually lower their cost of living or protect their rights.

I get it. I'm outraged and disgusted too. But... remember this: Our personal outrage over norm-breaking obscenities does not motivate non-voters or flip swing independents. Instead, what does do this are tangible solutions to their lived experiences do. We can't afford to waste precious airtime on finger-wagging when we need to be proving why our platform is the better choice for their daily lives.

[Hieronymus Phact]

54. you kepp thinking sensible kitchen table issue motivates everyone

but it's just not true,
it only motivates those who care about that stuff but it's not everyone.
Many people are insulated and take those things for granted.
Different things resonate with different people. Attack on every front. it's not resource intensive to just toss in reminders of this stuff to keep it afloat in the news.
"when he's not destroying the white house, he's wreaking your health insurance"

[QueerDuck]

55. Actually, no. I never said that. --- I never said it motivates "everyone."

But, I'll summarize for you one final time... as quickly and simply as possible. I don't want to spend all day on this again.

My entire point is based on how we scale our messaging to reach the broadest possible coalition of voters.

When it comes to winning tight election cycles, successful campaigns will be the ones that build a messaging strategy around macro-trends, not micro-exceptions.

While it may be true that a small handful of a tiny subset of insulated voters could be uniquely swayed by photos of the destroyed White House lawn, we need more than that! Here's the reality: we need to win majorities by building a massive tidal wave among the much larger swath of independents, centrists, and reasonable swing voters.

These are the people who are feeling the genuine pain of daily survival and need to see a distinct contrast between the parties. This is especially true (and challenging) when bad-faith actors try to suppress turnout by claiming "both sides are the same." (I think you know who I'm referring to.)

In the end, your proposal of spending our limited resources, limited manpower, and limited time in chasing a small handful of niche voters at the expense of actually building a cohesive, high-impact national platform is a fundamental strategic mistake.

Sadly, we have reached an impasse. It is clear to me we simply see political strategy through entirely different lenses. I've laid out my thoughts as clearly as I can, and I have no desire to keep repeating myself.

So, at this point, I'll just leave it there and step away from this sub-thread. Have a great weekend.

[mercuryblues]

47. My Ad

Showing a family at a grocery store, buying a box of Ramen, cut to this photo'

Trump cut food aid for the needy to build this? Your taxpayer dollars going to a ballroom, to feed the super rich, while your neighbors survive on Ramen noodles.

[QueerDuck]

48. It's a start but still weak. It's mostly finger-wagging "shame on Trump" ad.

I appreciate the pivot to an economic angle. Linking the physical mess to food aid and grocery prices is a much stronger approach than just looking at a landscape photo. However, this script still highlights the exact problem with purely negative, "shame on Trump" messaging. It stops halfway through the job. Here is why this format fails to move the exact disaffected and independent voters we need:

The Cynicism Trap: Disaffected voters already believe the system is rigged and that politicians favor the rich. Showing them a luxury ballroom while they buy Ramen noodles doesn't make them want to vote for us... it just reinforces their existing cynicism that "all politicians do is waste our money."

The "So What?" Factor: If an ad ends on a note of pure outrage about what Trump did, it leaves the independent voter asking, "Okay, so what are the Democrats going to do about my grocery bill?"

Failing to Build the Coalition: Purely negative ads that scold the opposition are great for firing up the base, but they do not motivate a non-voter to get off the couch. Swing voters and unmotivated independents don't just want to hear why the other guy is awful; they need a tangible, kitchen-table reason to believe their lives will actively improve under a Democratic majority.

I appreciate that contrast is a vital tool in campaign ads, but it only works if it serves as a bridge to our platform.

We shouldn't just point at their ballroom and say "gee, aren't they awful? tsk tsk, what a shame!" Instead, we have to explicitly tell the voter how we are going to lower the cost of their groceries and protect their family.

Without the proactive solution, it’s just finger-wagging that leaves the voter frustrated and holding a box of Ramen.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Happy Birthday, America ......

[Mr.Bee]

33. Precedent

One look at the oval office would indicate how insecure this man really is.

[struggle4progress]

3. Vandalism

[GPV]

27. Yes, we found the vandal's hideout!

[OMGWTF]

34. Vandalism against government property will get you ten years in the Gray Bar Hotel according to T💩p.

Well! Dafuq are we waiting for?

[kentuck]

4. It's sickening..

And nobody seems to care...?

[eShirl]

5. Shit-Midas

guess he wants it to match his decaying corpse of a soul

[RoeVWade]

6. It's not completely flattened yet, so something must be holding him back.

nt*

[PatSeg]

10. He just needs a little more time

He is destroying as fast as he can and he still needs his naps.

[allegorical oracle]

50. MSNOW just reported that he's starting work on the North Portico columns.

Scaffolding and canvas drapes are being erected. Nobody could say what the plan is, but he's wanted to alter those columns.

He has no sense of history. When I was 12, my family visited the WH, and I was starstruck as I wondered what presidents had walked or stood where I was in the room.

He's a disgusting human.

[Goonch]

7. ;-{) AFTER

[ColoringFool]

13. 'Twould be an improvement over today. More burial sites, too.

[JPK]

8. Doesnt the DoD realize

Satellites can take photos of the entire construction of The Bunker?

[RoeVWade]

9. No problem there, Trump likely already bragged about the secret details of how great it is.

nt*

[ColoringFool]

11. I hear this is his favorite photo. Mission Accomplished.

[radical noodle]

12. He lived in a tower in NYC

He sees no need for grass or roses or anything other than concrete and more concrete.

[allegorical oracle]

19. Exactly. Think he's afraid of nature -- sharks, whales, tomatoes. Who knows all his

phobias?

Just saw a photo of a new gold scroll sign he's put up over a WH door. It reads, "The West Wing." It's possible he's a pathological labeling freak, which is why he has to have his name on everything. A shrink would have a field day with him.

[radical noodle]

24. Yes, and I should have said concrete and gold crap...

I shudder to think what evil someone would discover in his mind.

[OMGWTF]

35. T💩p's brain is melting. He needs all of those signs to know where he is.

[Grim Chieftain]

14. And why has this been allowed to happen?

Both parties have enabled the desecration of our White House. It is unrecognizable. Apparently if you are a thirty-four-time convicted felon you are truly above the law.

[if..fish..had..wings]

15. Throw him out of office

before he does any more damage

[FakeNoose]

16. Here's how it looked when Joe and Jill Biden moved out (looking northward)

For reference, the East Wing is to the left of the main White House building, the West Wing is on the right.



(Wikimedia photo credit)

[karin_sj]

29. Ugh

It makes me so sad to see this picture.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. Looks like a burrow pit.

[Hope22]

22. When the war comes home we won't know if DC was hit

Or just the madman ….the line was everything he touches dies but in truth he kills everything he touches!

[Dave Id]

21. The only thing missing is

The "Beast" with the wheels and tires removed sitting on cement blocks. Welcome to the neighborhood.

[OMGWTF]

36. And an old rusty washing machine tipped over on its side.

[milestogo]

23. And that's just the outside.

[Bumbles]

25. Is there anyway to make him pay from his grifting?

One can wish.

[J-9]

26. Jawdropping

nt

[karin_sj]

28. Utterly disgusting

It looks horrible, and comparing the before and after, it also looks like a lot of trees have been removed. Idiocracy is definitely here now.

[FakeNoose]

42. The Rose Garden was dug up and they took out those trees even before the East Wing was knocked down

I can't tell whether trees on the Ellipse (half circle front lawn) have been been taken down. It looks like part of the grassy area is being reseeded, however it's hard to say for sure. By the old East Wing there is an area of grass that's paved over for the construction vehicles.

[SpankMe]

30. Small brain - and small dick. n/t

[CaptainTruth]

31. He should pay back every penny spent on that destruction...

...& every penny needed to rebuild & repair it.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

32. Probably should just bulldoze it all and put up a Mc"DONALDS"! He does have experience with a deep fryer.

[usonian]

37. Finishing the job

[liberalla]

38. 😲 OMG

Just horrible... very much reflects the current decrepit occupant. Very sad, but also enraging...

[Torchlight]

39. He'll eventually have the entire White House retarred

and given his taste in decor, he's just the guy to do it.

[Martin68]

41. I'd like to tar and feather Trump and run him out of town on a rail.

[Martin68]

40. Makes me sick. I'd like to see Jackie Kennedy's ghost return to haunt Trump every night.

[Emile]

43. Arrest that SOB for destruction of government property!

[jmowreader]

44. The worst part of all this...

...is there is enough room on the White House property that he could have built his ballroom without tearing down ANYTHING.

[Vinca]

49. What a mess. The next POTUS is going to have one hell of a clean-up job and then the restoration of what

he's destroyed must then commence. It will cost a fortune to fix, too.

[Jack Valentino]

51. We should have collected a huge "security deposit" before Trump was

allowed to move in...

[MissouriDem47]

52. The White House Lawn

The White House Lawn is currently in worse condition than it was in the movie, "Idiocracy".

How do you make your comment bold in the Reply text?

[Lokilooney]

53. I heard this meme on the social networking tubes, Bluesky I believe.

If your upset a part of the white house was destroyed then part of you does want a king.