The White House is Ruined

10.21.25

Happy Tuesday and welcome back to today’s edition of Common Sense with Ally Sammarco — your daily briefing on U.S. politics. Let’s break it down.

Trump Begins Demolition of White House East Wing for $250M Ballroom….Crews began tearing down a section of the White House East Wing on October 20, as part of Donald Trump’s plan to build a private-donor-funded, 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the presidential residence. The $250 million project will replace historic offices used by First Ladies and foreign dignitaries, despite not yet having formal approval from the National Capital Planning Commission. Employees in the neighboring U.S. Treasury Department were instructed not to photograph the demolition, raising even more concerns about approval.

Common Sense takeaway: This is quite frankly, an abomination. The East Wing was gorgeous and needed zero remodeling. The White House is the people’s house on loan, not Donald Trump’s personal mansion. Like Jaime Harrison said, any alterations to the White House should have to be approved by Congress. Period.

J.D. Vance Lands in Israel to Shore Up Ceasefire….Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Israel today for a diplomatic mission geared to stabilize the fragile cease-fire between Hamas and Gaza. He toured a newly established U.S.–Israeli civil-military coordination center and met with Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials as part of the push toward the second phase of the administration’s 20-point peace plan. The ceasefire, initiated on October 10, has already seen violations and stalled hostage-body exchanges, and the main sticking point remains whether Hamas will disarm and whether Gaza’s governance will be restructured. Vance is essentially stepping in to keep the deal from collapsing.

Common Sense takeaway: What do you do when your peace plan is already being violated left and right? You send back-up in, of course. Nothing says “success” like making J.D.—the guy who’s been on Twitter and hosting Charlie Kirk’s podcast show incessantly—go do the dirty work. At least he’s doing something a bit more useful now.

Pardoned Capitol Rioter Arrested After Threats Against Hakeem Jeffries….Christopher Moynihan—a 34-year-old who was pardoned by Donald Trump following his participation in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol—has been arrested and charged with making violent threats against House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Court filings allege that Moynihan sent messages saying: “Hakeem Jeffries makes a speech in a few days in NYC I cannot allow this terrorist to live… I will kill him for the future.” The texts placed the recipient in “reasonable fear of the imminent murder and assassination” of Jeffries, according to the complaint.

Common Sense takeaway: This is exactly why pardons should never be given in way that doesn’t heavily scrutinize each individual who is getting one. This man is clearly a nutcase—which is why he broke into the Capitol in the first place—and now he is on the streets, making threats towards Democratic leaders. Wonderful job getting rid of criminals, Donald.

Trump Escalates Feud With Colombia….President Trump ramped up his attacks on Colombia over the weekend, labeling President Gustavo Petro an “illegal drug leader” and threatening to suspend all U.S. aid and impose steep tariffs on Colombian exports. His outbursts followed a U.S.-authorized strike on a vessel allegedly linked to leftist rebels, which Colombia condemned as a violation of its sovereignty. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Colombia had “no fight against drugs” and “they are a drug-manufacturing machine” with “a lunatic” for a president. Petro rejected Trump’s accusations and described himself as “the main enemy” of drugs in Colombia, while also saying “The problem is with Trump, not with the USA.”

Common Sense takeaway: I, too, would be upset if a foreign leader was indiscriminately shooting missiles at boats in our region. This is why Congress if supposed to approve such decisions. Sadly, Trump is 5 years old and attacks anyone with petty nicknames who doesn’t agree with his decisions.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Check back tomorrow for more.