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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Francine Prose

Trump put a wrecking-ball through the East Wing – and through democratic norms

Construction continues on a new helipad on the South Lawn of the White House and the East Wing ballroom.
‘I can’t have been the only person who was shocked and saddened by photos of the jagged, gaping hole in the White House’s east facade.’ Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

History has shown us how much dictators and aspiring dictators love building monuments to themselves. They enjoy reminding the world that they can do anything, no matter who is responsible for the physical labor or who will be paying the financial and human cost.

They prefer outsized structures, heroic arches, towers and columns designed to prove that their signature and their esthetic will be with us forever, even after they’re dead, though dictators often seem to believe they are too powerful to die.

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