Eve of Destruction? by Geoff Carter « The Pen in Hand BLog

Illustration by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

Last Saturday, two days after participating in our local rendition of the No Kings March, which drew over 15,000 people in Milwaukee, I—like most Americans—was appalled and disgusted to see a backhoe tearing down the East Wing of the White House the following Monday morning. It was as shocking as if a foreign missile had struck it, but worse. This wanton destruction of the structure—and its historical significance–came from within, from our own house, the people’s house.

Our president, the leader of the free world, without notice, without regard, and probably without much thought, ordered the teardown in order to make way for his gargantuan and tacky ballroom. He didn’t bother telling anyone what was going to happen. He ignored protocols, didn’t feel it necessary to tell Congress, and—unusually for him—didn’t bray about it on social media beforehand. It was a premediated sneak attack. It was also most probably a reaction to the No Kings Rally.

For all his infinite faults, the president is an extremely talented marketer who is a big believer in optics. Television is his medium. He loves TV. He gets his news from TV. After all, he was a television celebrity himself. He knows how to get attention and how to divert attention. He doesn’t seem to be big on symbols or metaphors—his reality is superficial—what you see is what you get, which is what makes the optics of the East Wing teardown particularly ironic. It was hard not to equate the shocking images of the demolition with Trump’s wholesale attack on our government.

It’s been hard to assimilate everything Trump and his minions have done. DOGE rushing into government buildings, firing thousands of people, Trump cutting off funding to USAID, the NHI, and the nation’s most prestigious universities. The president replacing lifelong members of the FBI and Department of Justice with his own acolytes. The empowerment of ICE to attack, arrest, and deport citizens without notice or due process. In Chicago, ICE has been using chemical deterrents like tear gas to disperse peaceful protestors. The administration has been destroying boats off the shore of Venezuela, claiming they are drug-running narco-terrorists, without evidence or warning. In short, he is running rampant.

It is no coincidence that most of these attacks have been accompanied with striking visuals meant to intimidate the president’s opponents with the breadth and depth of his power. Fishing boats being blown out of the water, armed National Guard troops and US Marines patrolling the streets of our cities, and ICE lackeys breaking car windows and manhandling, frightening, and beating citizens. A midnight military-type attack on a Chicago apartment building. These are designed to scare the hell out of us.

Mr. Trump’s investment in optics is also evident in his unholy fascination with gold. It’s everywhere. The décor in Trump’s Oval Office looks cheap, gaudy, and tasteless. Gold leaf, gold statues, gold knickknacks seem to fill every square inch. That hallowed office now resembles nothing so much as the foyer to a New Orleans whorehouse. Yet, to the president, there seems to be a direct equivalency between images of gold and wealth—never mind any subtle connotations of history or heritage attached to the office, only the tasteless garishness and showy bling of a nouveau riche sensibility. One look at the plans for his 90,000 square foot ballroom underlines his monumental lack of taste and restraint. My first thought on seeing it was that this could be part of Barbie’s Junior Prom playset.

Knowing Mr. Trump’s fascination with optics, it’s not difficult to imagine his reaction to the images of hundreds of thousands of American citizens lining the streets to protest him and his presidency. A twenty-two-block long line of protestors in New York City must have really gotten his goat. Remember this is the man who refused to believe aerial photos of the sparse crowds at his first inauguration and accused the mainstream media of lying while his own press secretary lied about the number of people attending. The optics are that important to him.

Seeing caricatures of himself as a baby, a queen, an emperor with no clothes, and more, even more creative depictions of himself must have hit a nerve. News reports that over seven million Americans protested his policies—and his presence in the White House—prompted Abigail Jackson, one of his staff, to post “Who cares?” (BBC). According to CNN, the president said “Saturday’s mass protests a “joke” and described them as “very small, very ineffective.” The people who took part were “whacked out,” Trump said.”

This is what he does. When challenged, he insults, he belittles, he demeans, and he bullies. And then he inevitably lashes out.

On Saturday, the same day as the protests, the president posted a 19-second AI-generated video of him piloting a fighter jet with a crown emblazoned on the side dumping what appears to be human feces on the protestors below. To call this an immature response typical of a somewhat creative twelve-year-old would be about right. That this is a response of the president of the United States is not only inappropriate, embarrassing, and disgusting, but dangerous. It seems emblematic of a thin-skinned narcissist who has shown signs of increasing mental instability.

But apparently, the AI jet video wasn’t enough. It hardly seems coincidental that on the first workday after the No Kings protests, a backhoe rolled in and started taking down the East Wing. I can’t imagine a stronger or more shocking image to wake up to on a Monday morning, and it was an image that conveyed everything Trump wanted to communicate. He wanted to show that he answers to no one. He wanted to demonstrate that is what happens when you cross me. And, finally, he demonstrated what he actually thinks of America and Americans.

The subtler metaphorical context of the image was probably lost on the president and his staff—though maybe not. He is a shrewd marketer. Destroying the East Wing destroyed Jackie Kennedy’s garden, the First Lady’s offices, and other historically important locations. It showed a callous disdain for history and heritage. Besides that, destroying the East Wing without collaboration with any government agency implies ownership. To Trump, the White House is not the people’s house. It is his to destroy, deface, and loot as he pleases.

Trump believes the White House belongs to him. He believes the Justice Department and military belongs to him. He believes the Treasury belongs to him—and he will loot it relentlessly.

He believes he is a king; he tore down the East Wing to prove it. This, of course, begs the question of what might be next. The White House itself? The Capitol Building? Will he install a golden statue of himself in the Lincoln Memorial? Are we on the brink of total annihilation of our nation? Are we on the Eve of Destruction?