Trump
Getty Images
Last weekend has already gone down as one of the most turbulent in recent US history, but president Donald Trump’s latest message on Truth Social shows just how ‘out of touch’ he is with the US population.
The federal government has been condemned following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti – also 37 – in the state on Saturday (24 January). It comes just two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota.
Barack Obama was among the high profile figures to comment on the situation in Minnesota.
However, Trump had other things on his mind when he took to Truth Social on Sunday.
The president, once again, couldn’t help but comment at length on his plans to build the extravagant White House ballroom.

The $400 million project has seen the East Wing of the historic presidential building knocked down to build the new event space, with the controversial build coming in for criticism from Trump critics.
Trump wrote: “I’m building, on top of everything else that I am doing, one of the greatest and most beautiful Ballrooms anywhere in the World, with more than 300 Million Dollars of Great American Patriots’ money, and working closely with, right from the beginning, the United States Military and Secret Service. This is a GIFT (ZERO taxpayer funding!) to the United States of America, of 300 to 400 Million Dollars (depending on the scope and quality of interior finishes!), for a desperately needed space, sought for over 150 years by previous Presidents and Administrations, so that the White House would no longer be forced to use a cheap and unsafe ‘tent,’ for big and important STATE EVENTS, Dinners, Meetings, Conferences, and already scheduled future INAUGURATIONS (for safety, security, and capacity purposes!), on a very wet, and subject to weather, White House lawn.
“Making such a large gift to the U.S.A. was thought to be, by almost everyone, “A WONDERFUL THING TO DO” — But no, as usual, I got sued, this time by the Radical Left National (No!)Trust for Historic Preservation, a group that couldn’t care less about our Country! All of the Structural Steel, Windows, Doors, A.C./Heating Equipment, Marble, Stone, Precast Concrete, Bulletproof Windows and Glass, Anti-Drone Roofing, and much more, has been ordered (or is ready to be), and there is no practical or reasonable way to go back. IT IS TOO LATE! Why didn’t these obstructionists and troublemakers bring their baseless lawsuit much earlier? Congress never tried, or wanted, to stop the Ballroom Project! Everyone knew what was taking place at the White House — A great, big, beautiful gift to the United States of America!”
The post came in for criticism online, with social media users criticising the timing of the post during a sensitive time in the US – about something the majority of US citizens don’t care about.
Chief White House Correspondent at CNN, Kaitlan Collins, wrote: “As his administration faces questions over the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, President Trump wrote on Truth Social at 11:31 am to say that stopping construction of the White House ballroom “would be devastating to the White House, our Country and all concerned.”
Senior Executive at NBCUniversal, Mike Sington, wrote: “Amid a massive winter storm hitting the United States, and fallout from the latest ICE shooting in Minneapolis, Trump decides to post a very lengthy rant about his ballroom.”
The FactPost account wrote: “Trump posts an unhinged rant about his $400 million ballroom the day after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minnesota.”
Founder and Publisher of TheBulwark.com, Sarah Longwell, sarcastically wrote: "The President of the United States is laser-focused on the concerns of Americans today."
Why not read…?
- Trump official claims president gave ‘masterclass in diplomacy’ at Davos - yes, really
- White House AI image of Trump and a penguin contains one major error
- Donald Trump blames aspirin for visible bruising on his hands
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
The Conversation (0)














