You would think that the ballroom and the reflecting pool would have been instructive lessons. You would be wrong however. The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump’s next vanity project is to sink a quarter of a million dollars into minor renovation of the two-lane bowling alley in the Eisenhower Building. Who cares about bowling, Trump in particular?
A $253,000 government contract funded by the Executive Office of the President was awarded for a “lighting project” on the two-lane bowling alley in the basement of the White House’s Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to federal procurement data.
Mr. Trump has not spoken, at least publicly, about an interest in bowling, and a White House spokesman said that Mr. Trump was not involved in the project. But the president has directed makeovers in and around the White House totaling hundreds of millions in taxpayer expenses, including attempts to beautify the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a paved-over Rose Garden and the sprawling White House ballroom project.
The spokesman said the bowling alley project would cover standard upkeep and fixing broken lights, and added that the alley had hosted nearly 10,000 guests over the last year.
A rebuild of the aging bowling lanes was proposed in 2014 under President Barack Obama. But the project was swiftly nixed after Republicans criticized any use of public funding for the exclusive lanes.
If Obama wanted to do it, it was squandering money. If Trump wants to do it, then it’s a holy quest. What’s next, a renovation of all the broom closets in the capitol?
