There are a couple of different issues being mixed together here. First, I checked the reports about the USS Abraham Lincoln. There apparently are legitimate complaints coming from sailors and their families about toiletries, showers, toilets and morale after an extremely long deployment. The ship has been deployed for more than eight months, has spent most of that time at sea, and its deployment has been extended twice. If our sailors are having those problems, then they absolutely should be addressed. The food claim is a little different. The Navy has specifically denied that the Lincoln is running out of food or that sailors aren't receiving adequate nutrition. The Chief of Naval Operations said the strike group had at least a 10-day food supply and many ships had 30 days or more. So there are conflicting reports there rather than an established fact that the crew is going hungry. But what does any of this have to do with the White House ballroom? Do you really believe Trump personally decides whether the USS Abraham Lincoln gets toothpaste, deodorant or replacement parts for its toilets? That's a Navy logistics and supply chain issue. If there's a failure there find out where the failure occurred and fix it. As for the ballroom, you're leaving out some rather important information. The ballroom itself is being funded by Trump and private donors not through the normal taxpayer funded construction budget. There has been separate proposed federal spending for major security upgrades to the White House complex and that's fair to debate, but that's not the same thing as Trump taking money for sailors' food and toiletries and spending it on his ballroom. And I'm not opposed to the White House having a permanent facility large enough to host major state dinners and official events. The need for expanded White House event space has been discussed for decades. If sailors aboard the Lincoln aren't getting adequate supplies, then let's find out why and hold the people responsible for Navy logistics accountable. But pretending there's a choice being made between buying a sailor a tube of toothpaste and building the White House ballroom makes for a good anti-Trump talking point, but it doesn't explain what is actually happening.
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