Imminent Trump move will subject US to 'trauma for decades to come': analyst

An understated move from Donald Trump will leave its mark on the United States for decades to come, according to a political analyst.

The president's constant renovations, monument building, and recent currency update are a sign he wants to be remembered as one of the all-time greats, Salon columnist Heather Digby Parton claimed. The changes themselves do not guarantee that but, Parton argues, will affect the US all the same.

She wrote, "Trump has redecorated much of the White House, and his eyes are now reportedly set on turning the Treaty Room into a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom. He tore down the East Wing to make room for a massive ballroom, and he has submitted plans to build a giant Triumphal Arch.

"All of these will be remembered as Donald Trump’s tributes to himself. But his latest scheme is even more brazen: He will soon appear on American currency.

"The U.S. Mint will distribute large commemorative $1 gold coins bearing Trump’s face, ostensibly to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, and there’s talk of putting him on the dime as well. On Thursday it was reported that his signature will appear on all paper currency going forward.

"That’s right. His Richter scale scribble will soon be in every Americans’ wallet to remind us of this trauma for decades to come."

Parton believes it is too late to stop Trump from finalizing these changes too, with the president set to renovate and remove what he can from the White House and beyond during his second term in office.

"None of this is normal," she wrote. "To the extent the president has bothered to get approval for these projects, hand-picked sycophants on the various appointed boards eagerly signed off without question, and in other cases, he simply ordered it to be done.

"He had no right to unilaterally tear down part of the White House. As an historic building that belongs to the American people, there are processes that he should have followed.

"Now there’s nothing to be done about it, including the fact that he plans to put a humongous monstrosity in its place — a large-scale ballroom that will dwarf the People’s House."