This is an adapted excerpt from the April 9 episode of “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”
“America First” has been the rallying cry behind Donald Trump’s entire appeal as a politician. It’s one of the main reasons he has stuck around as a fixture in this country’s political life for over a decade. And it’s an essential part of the fairy tale he tells over and over again that only he can make America great again, because he will always “put America first.”
It is supposedly the basis of his entire policy platform, including a main priority of his second term: implementing his sweeping and shambolic tariff plan.
Despite everything that America has been facing since the start of Trump 2.0, the ballroom is one of those topics that the president just cannot help but bring up at every possible opportunity.
According to Trump, his tariffs are supposed to protect and boost U.S. production. Especially for one American industry he has long claimed is near and dear to his heart: steel manufacturing.
The president’s promise to boost production of U.S. steel not only helped him get back in the White House, but after a year in power, it has helped him maintain the support of many of his fanatical supporters, even as he does one unprecedented, crazy thing after another — like, say, tearing down and destroying the entire historic East Wing of the White House just so he can try to build the giant, gilded, gaudy ballroom of his dreams.
Despite everything that America has faced since the start of Trump 2.0, the ballroom is one of the projects the president appears to be most focused on. He brings it up incessantly during public remarks and when speaking to reporters. But now, we’re learning the extent to which his beloved ballroom is on a collision course with his promise to put America first.
In October, during a dinner with dozens of executives and businesspeople at the White House, Trump announced a curious donation to his construction project. The president said a “great steel company” had offered to donate $37 million in steel for the ballroom.
The president described the donation as “high quality,” adding that it was “great steel, as opposed to garbage steel, because they dump a lot of garbage around.”
So, since he’s the “America First” president, one would most definitely think Trump is using American steel for his big, beautiful ballroom, right?
On Wednesday, The New York Times released a report with this headline: “White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project.” According to the Times, which spoke with two people familiar with the plans, the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars’ worth of donated non-American steel for the construction. The steel will reportedly come from a Luxembourg-based firm and will be produced in Europe.
So definitely not America first.
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Trump’s White House didn’t bother trying to deny the story. A spokesperson told the Times that the president was “making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves at no cost to the taxpayer — something everyone should celebrate.”
“Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that,” the spokesperson added.
This story by itself blows a hole through the fantasy that Trump prioritizes America’s interests first.
I don’t know, I would imagine that if America First truly is your thing — as it is for many supporters of the president and his policies — you would absolutely find a problem with that.
Representatives of U.S. steel companies told The New York Times that the decision to accept foreign steel for such a historic American landmark could anger domestic steel producers.
Like Brandon Farris, the executive vice president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, a trade group representing North American steelmakers. He told the Times that the domestic steel industry could supply whatever steel the president would need for his projects.
This story by itself blows a hole through the fantasy that Trump prioritizes America’s interests. Then you add in things like the foreign war Trump decided to start, which is driving up gas prices by the day; the taxpayer dollars he wants to use to build his gigantic vanity arch in Washington; and the fact that he and his family members have gotten billions of dollars richer as costs have gone up for everyday Americans — and it becomes clear Trump is not putting America first.
It’s always about putting Trump first.
Allison Detzel contributed.
Jen Psaki is the host of "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" airing Tuesdays through Fridays at 9 p.m. EST. She is the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden.
Seamus O'Toole
Seamus O'Toole is a Segment Producer for "The Briefing with Jen Psaki."