Demolition crews began tearing down the East Wing of the White House this week for Trump’s $250 million personal ballroom. The image has broken through in ways other Trump abuses haven’t—the physical destruction of the seat of American democracy captured in photographs that reveal exactly what’s happening to the country.
By Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had ordered all Treasury Department employees not to photograph the destruction. The excuse? Images could “reveal sensitive security features.” The reality? They’re hiding Trump’s destruction of American institutions from the American people. Trump started demolishing this historic building without approval from the National Capital Planning Commission—the agency that must green-light work on government buildings. He bragged at a donor dinner that he was told “you can start tonight, you have no approvals” and “you can do anything you want.”
The bunkers sit beneath that wing. Every foreign intelligence agency is now studying these photos for vulnerabilities. Who’s doing the construction? We saw this playbook at 10 Downing Street when Russian contractors wired the press room for surveillance. Trump is turning the White House into another Mar-a-Lago, complete with a throne room where he can hold court as America’s king. When authoritarians suppress documentation of their actions while claiming unlimited power, they’re showing you exactly what they are.
🏛️ TRUMP CLAIMS “UNQUESTIONED POWER”
Trump vowed to send National Guard troops into San Francisco, falsely claiming “unquestioned power” under the Insurrection Act. Crime rates in San Francisco have been falling, but that didn’t stop Elon Musk and David Sacks—unelected tech billionaires—from demanding military intervention in their city. California officials warned such action would be illegal. Trump doesn’t care. He’s conditioning Americans to accept military deployment in U.S. cities, invoking the Insurrection Act more frequently, testing boundaries before breaking them entirely. The same president demolishing the White House without approval now claims unlimited authority to deploy troops. The pattern reveals the plan.
🕵️ SECRET POLITICAL PERSECUTION APPARATUS
Reuters uncovered the Interagency Weaponization Working Group—a secret operation involving the White House, DOJ, CIA, and ODNI coordinating Trump’s retaliation campaign against perceived enemies. They’re targeting anyone connected to the Russia probe, January 6 investigations, and COVID policies. Led by Attorney General Pam Bondi and DNI Tulsi Gabbard, the group includes 39 officials tied to Trump’s election fraud conspiracies and far-right movements. Intelligence agencies have turned inward against political opponents while the president claims unlimited authority and tears down institutional barriers. This isn’t isolated abuse—it’s systematic weaponization of the intelligence apparatus for political persecution.
🚨 ICE ARMS ITSELF LIKE A MILITARY
ICE increased weapons spending by 700% under Trump—$71 million for “small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories.” But the procurement lists reveal they’re buying guided missile warheads and explosive components. An immigration enforcement agency now possesses military-grade weaponry. This militarization connects directly to Trump’s threats of troop deployment and claims of unlimited power. When you arm a domestic agency with missiles while threatening to deploy military forces in American cities, you’re not preparing for immigration enforcement—you’re building infrastructure for authoritarian control.
⚠️ INSTALLING A NAZI TO DESTROY WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS
Paul Ingrassia, Trump’s choice to head the Office of Special Counsel—the agency that protects whistleblowers—called Martin Luther King Jr. Day “a holiday that belongs in the seventh circle of hell” and bragged about having “a Nazi streak.” The 30-year-old used racial slurs, mocked civil rights, and declared his admiration for the “Hitler Youth.” Now imagine you’re a federal employee who witnessed Trump’s demolition of the White House—which Bessent ordered you not to photograph. The person in charge of protecting you from retaliation openly celebrates Nazi ideology. That’s not an accident—that’s the message. Speak up and a Nazi sympathizer controls your fate.
THE SYSTEM REVEALS ITSELF
Each development this week connects to build authoritarian infrastructure: demolishing institutions while suppressing documentation, claiming unlimited power while militarizing domestic agencies, running secret persecution operations while installing Nazi sympathizers to destroy whistleblower protections. This isn’t separate scandals. Trump tears down physical and institutional barriers simultaneously—the White House and democratic safeguards, both reduced to rubble while his Treasury Secretary hides the evidence. They’re not even pretending anymore. The demolition equipment operating at the seat of American democracy tells you everything about what’s being built in its place.
Trump Tyranny Tracker airs live Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm ET on Narativ.org, available as audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Follow Olga Lautman’s essential daily tracking of authoritarian developments at trumptyrannytracker.substack.com.
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