'I Am the Code': Trump Clashed with Ballroom Architect on Safety Codes

Thursday, September 24, 2026

In the weeks leading up to his resignation last year, the first architect on the White House ballroom clashed with President Donald Trump over design features that the architect believed violated building safety codes, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions and corroborating documents reviewed by The Washington Post.

Posted by lamplighter at 02:33 PM | 9 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Trump: "I am the code." The USA: "We're fucked." https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/09/23/i-am-code-trump-clashed-with-ballroom-architect-over-safety-issues/

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-- Morgan J Freeman (@mjfree.bsky.social) 3:55 PM Â· Sep 23, 2026

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More from the article ...

... James McCrery II withdrew from the project last October after warning repeatedly that Trump was insisting on a preliminary design that did not provide adequate emergency exit routes or fire-containment measures, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions.

Trump brushed off McCrery's concerns, they said, and the president countered that no building codes apply to White House construction.

"I am the code," Trump said.

That episode, as described by the people familiar with the matter, offers new insight into Trump's priorities for the ballroom at a time when he is flexing executive power to fast-track construction projects across the nation's capital. The interviews and documents obtained by The Post - including early ballroom designs and images Trump appeared to have marked up with his trademark black-ink Sharpie - also show how deeply involved the president has been in the details of the project. ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-23 03:41 PM | Reply

Trump doesn't care about this ballroom.

It's simply a fantastic way for him to embezzle taxpayer money.

Trump's excels at bankruptcy. America is ------.

#2 | Posted by ClownShack at 2026-09-23 03:45 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 2

The spectacle of 1500 plutocrats being burned alive in Trump's firebox grand ballroom would be....Ironic.

#3 | Posted by Zed at 2026-09-23 05:59 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Re 3 - Inglourious -------- comes to mind..

#4 | Posted by HeeHaw at 2026-09-23 07:05 PM | Reply

He's a ------- ------

#5 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-09-23 10:20 PM | Reply

Rule by Fuhrerprinzip.

Make sure you thank a Republican.

It's what they wanted for us.

And, boy, did we get it

#6 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-09-24 08:41 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

He only needs ballroom to last for two years.

Then it is someone else's problem.

That is how he has run his entire life.

#7 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-09-24 11:42 AM | Reply

@#1 ... "I am the code," Trump said. ...

"When someone is President of the United States, the authority is total, and that is the way it has to be. It's total. It's total."
-- Pres Trump, Apr. 13, 2020

"I have the right to do anything I want"
-- Pres Trump, Aug. 26, 2025

#8 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-24 03:20 PM | Reply

"Respect the badge - he earned it with his blood
Fear the gun - your sentence may be death because...
I AM THE LAW!
And you won't f*** around no more - I AM THE LAW
I judge the rich, I judge the poor - I AM THE LAW
Commit a crime I'll lock the door - I AM THE LAW
Because in Mega-City... I AM THE LAW"

Trump Dredd
(apologies to Anthrax)

#9 | Posted by anton at 2026-09-24 03:33 PM | Reply