King Charles III displayed classic British humor during his official visit to the White House. With a subtlety laden with irony, the monarch commented on the East Wing renovation pushed by Donald Trump and compared it to the burning of the building by British troops in 1814 during the War of 1812: “We Brits had our own little attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.” The joke brought a smile to Trump, although the next day some analysts and comedians doubted that the president had truly grasped the historical reference.
Currently, the construction of the new building is in legal limbo since a judge halted it due to a lack of congressional approval. Despite the initial halt, Trump's administration has achieved a temporary resumption of work through an appeal, arguing that it is essential for the safety of the president and his family. When the East Wing was demolished, the historic emergency bunker located beneath it was also dismantled.
This tug-of-war will continue on June 5 in the courts, when the court of appeals will have to rule. If the decision is not favorable to the White House's interests, it will have to appeal to the Supreme Court or Congress to avoid a definitive halt to the works. In light of this, some Republican lawmakers have already made a move in case the legal route fails and are seeking to approve legislative authorization that would also allocate public funds to the project. This maneuver breaks with Trump's promise to finance his grand ballroom with private funds, a "monstrosity" according to his critics due to its disproportionate size.
Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner a week ago, Republican leaders are repeating like parrots on the conservative network Fox News that the construction of the ballroom is now a “national security necessity.” With this new narrative, they hope to gain support to justify this expense to taxpayers who are struggling with the rising price of gasoline and food.
This situation is reminiscent of the American saying “You break it, you own it.” With the destruction of the East Wing, Trump proceeded without permits or secured funds. Now, with the White House “broken,” he is forcing all his fellow citizens to pay for it. In Catalan, we would say "pagar els plats trencats" (to pay for the broken plates).
And also breakdowns in Tehran
The East Wing isn't the only dish Trump has broken. The same could be said of his policy with Iran. In 2018, he shattered the nuclear deal, which had been achieved after two years of negotiations by Barack Obama's government with the help of world powers, without any alternative. In the following years, the ayatollahs' regime resumed uranium enrichment to a purity of 60%, a level that brings them close to creating a nuclear weapon.
Now the president is trying to impose himself by force with bombings and without a clear strategy of what he wants and how he wants to do it. Some of his advisors and his ally Israel believed that Iran would collapse with the assassination of its leader, but geopolitical reality is stubborn. The Iranian forces closed the Strait of Hormuz, the main artery of world oil, which has caused an escalation in energy prices. Trump has counterattacked with a total naval blockade to cut off both the export of its oil and the import of supplies and food. In this way, he hopes the country will end up caving in through economic and social asphyxiation. Both sides are now in a dangerous game of chicken where no one dares to brake first, and which puts the global economy in check.
The Iranian forces closed the Strait of Hormuz, the main artery of world oil, which has caused an escalation in energy prices. Trump has counterattacked with a total naval blockade to cut off both the export of its oil and the import of supplies and food. In this way, he hopes the country will end up caving in through economic and social asphyxiation. Both sides are now in a dangerous game of chicken where no one dares to brake first, and which puts the global economy in check.
The war in Iran brings back to the political scene the American popular saying of the broken dishes that Colin Powell used to warn then-President George W. Bush about the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and to coin the law of the china shop, which recalls that the United States must assume the consequences of the wars they launch in third countries. Just as Trump will be responsible for a ruined site if he does not manage to rebuild the East Wing before his term ends, he will also be responsible for the outcome in Iran and the Middle East. Trump has become the sole owner of a war for which he has not asked permission from Congress nor does he expect to.
It is ironic that, on the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States, a British king gives him a lesson on the need to limit absolute power, and that he has done so precisely in front of Congress, the home of his own people.
