{"id":256,"date":"2026-07-07T15:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=256"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:43:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:43:00","slug":"maddowblog-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=256","title":{"rendered":"MaddowBlog"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

There was already a serious controversy surrounding Donald Trump\u2019s plans for a massive \u201ctriumphal\u201d arch just across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial, in front of Arlington National Cemetery. The story grew more serious last month amid reports that the president wants the arch to be built quickly. National Park Service documents suggested the administration expects 20 hours per day of construction, year round, in the hopes that it can be completed before the end of Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n

Read more There are no winners in the Folarin Balogun debacle<\/a><\/p>\n

The schedule on his White House helipad is, believe it or not, even more aggressive. The Washington Post reported:<\/p>\n

\n

The White House sped up construction of a new helipad and related work in anticipation of an \u201cupcoming state visit,\u201d requiring crews to work around-the-clock and driving the cost up by $875,000, according to a contractor\u2019s records obtained by The Washington Post.<\/p>\n

The $13 million project also includes work on the nearby South Portico and an adjacent portion of the White House driveway, which will be retopped with white stone, the contracting records show.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Construction of the helipad apparently started early last week, though White House officials were reluctant to acknowledge or provide details about the project. That changed this week as the president boasted about the endeavor during an unrelated event in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re building a helipad, beautiful helipad, and it\u2019s got the seal of the White House on it in granite, in carved granite,\u201d the Republican told reporters, confirming the project for the first time. He added that the price tag would run between $5 million and $6 million, and the costs would be covered by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary that \u200cbuilds Marine One helicopters.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t mention the ambitious construction schedule or that he apparently wants this done before Chinese President Xi Jinping\u2019s visit in September.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, keen readers might notice the gap between the contracting records pointing to a $13 million project and Trump\u2019s assurances about a helipad that costs $5 million to $6 million. That\u2019s because the helipad construction isn\u2019t the only related expense: It will also cost millions of dollars to cover planned work on the South Portico and the White House driveway.<\/p>\n

Read more MaddowBlog<\/a><\/p>\n

Who will cover the difference? The White House hasn\u2019t said, though if the recent ballroom revelations are any indication, it\u2019s a safe bet that taxpayers will be on the hook.<\/p>\n

As for the president\u2019s enthusiasm for the project, the Post\u2019s report (which has not been independently verified by MS NOW) added:<\/p>\n

\n

In the latest example of Trump\u2019s deep involvement in efforts to reshape the White House and its grounds, the president was personally engaged in several aspects of the helipad project, from price negotiations to design minutiae, according to emails exchanged between Clark [Construction] and the White House in December.<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump offered input on how far to extend the driveway and requested adding a slight slope to the pavers to facilitate better drainage, according to emailed notes from a Dec. 19 meeting with the president.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPOTUS wants to look at the option of a curved curb for the drive,\u201d one email noted.<\/p>\n

When it comes to governing and substantive policy work, Trump is easily bored and distracted. But when it comes time to settle on granular design details for his assorted renovations and ostensible beautification projects, the president is fully engaged.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s financial disclosure shows his corruption hitting a new low<\/a><\/p>\n

This post updates our related earlier coverage<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president confirmed reporting on his latest construction project, though his comments arguably made the controversy worse, not better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nMaddowBlog - Long Distance Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=256\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MaddowBlog - Long Distance Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The president confirmed reporting on his latest construction project, though his comments arguably made the controversy worse, not better.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/longdistancemoversusas.com\/?p=256\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Long Distance Movers USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T15:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0206dfa2bde56a4792f75b5b97027e43\"},\"headline\":\"MaddowBlog\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T15:43:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256\"},\"wordCount\":595,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/61b6776e255a49bdecb7c38d28864058.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"US\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/longdistancemoversusas.com\\\/?p=256\",\"name\":\"MaddowBlog - 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