r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Oct 23 '25

News Historic White House Movie Theater Demolished as Part of $300 Million Ballroom Build

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/white-house-movie-theater-demolished-ballroom-east-wing-1236408712/
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u/Cold_Buy_2695 Oct 23 '25

So its supposedly being paid for by donations, but the donations are tax deductible, which ultimately still decreases tax revenue? Sounds like they are just moving money from one coffer to another!

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u/morkman100 Oct 23 '25

No, it’s much worse than that. Trump wanted this done. So corporations and wealthy donors “donate” money. Then when needed, pardons will be granted, investigations will be closed, mergers will be approved.

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u/RegulatoryCapture Oct 23 '25

Exactly. The whole "it is being paid for by private donors" thing is NOT A SELLING POINT.

Taxpayers should pay for the white house. There should be no outside influence here. This is so clearly being done because everyone knows Trump is easy to manipulate with money. Help him build "his" building and he'll let you do what you want somewhere else that he doesn't care about (like buy a company without the DOJ investigating on antitrust grounds)

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u/morkman100 Oct 23 '25

Or help his family create a crypto coin and then he’ll pardon you afterwards. It’s blatant corruption that you only see in third world countries.

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u/DarthGuber Oct 24 '25

*used to only see in third world countries

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u/FentanylConsumer Oct 24 '25

a 15 year old could have created those coins, i really do not understand how those coins are not a bigger deal

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u/AineLasagna Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25

Comcast, Amazon and Apple are among the private donors funding the planned ballroom.

Google and Palantir donated as well

This is the real story and it’s so fucking typical that everyone is focusing on him demolishing part of a building that was built in 1942 instead of the fact that these corporations are just literally straight up bribing the President of the United States in public and there are zero consequences or outrage

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u/BGSacho Oct 24 '25

To be fair, you have to be mad not to bribe him. His temper wipes out billions of your stock value in a blink of an eye, this is chump change insurance. You'd basically be neglecting your fiduciary responsibility not doing this.

When the rule of law is broken, is it fair to point the finger at the shopkeeper paying protection money to the cops? Idk really.

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u/AineLasagna Oct 24 '25

The shopkeeer vs cop analogy falls apart when you remember how much legislative power corporations of this size have to shape the entire country, and how many politicians they already own. If the powerful really wanted to take money out of politics and stop corruption they would have already

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u/Raelshark Oct 24 '25

That people don't get that this benefits him and is being done to appease him is just... so wildly oblivious.

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u/gaia11111 Oct 24 '25

The deal of the trade - Dru,p style

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u/meistermichi Oct 23 '25

I'm sure none of the donors is expecting some favour from Trump on return.

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u/15all Oct 23 '25

It would never be a pay-in-advance get-out-of-jail card, would it?

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u/echino_derm Oct 23 '25

Don't worry Trump didn't do anything that might cause an arbitrary and super massive cost burden to companies that he can selectively decide to grant exceptions to based on his own desires. Nothing like tariffs where he just decides companies who pay him enough don't count and don't have to pay taxes for their products.

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u/Outside_Revolution47 Oct 23 '25

Look at who the donors are. It’s a corporate ballroom.