Donald Trump has quite the passion for American history. If there\u2019s a controversial statue commemorating a dead white supremacist out there, there\u2019s a good chance the president has gone to bat for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments,\u201d Trump tweeted<\/a> in 2017, in response to a push to remove Confederate monuments. \u201cYou can\u2019t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson \u2013 who\u2019s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish!\u201d Trump added<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump is right that you can\u2019t change history. But, if you\u2019re the president, you can abruptly bulldoze it with no permits and no public input. The 123-year-old East Wing of the White House, the home of offices for every first lady<\/a> for almost half a century, is now a pile of rubble<\/a>. After Trump said in July<\/a> that the historic building would not be touched, it was stealthily bulldozed to make way for a $300m ballroom. According to Trump<\/a>, there was a teeny little change of plans<\/a> \u201cafter really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking of plans, the bulldozing went ahead<\/a> without any such thing being submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal agency that oversees construction and renovations to government building. But don\u2019t worry, according to the White House, construction plans will be coming soon. Watch this space!<\/p>\n While the likes of the National Trust for Historic Preservation are upset<\/a> about the destruction of a \u201cNational Historic Landmark, a National Park, and a globally recognized symbol of our nation\u2019s ideals\u201d, some large corporations appear to be looking on the bright side. Trump has said<\/a> the new 90,000 sq ft ballroom is going to be \u201cpaid for 100% by me and some friends of mine\u201d. Now the world\u2019s CEOs have a wonderful opportunity to prove just how friendly to Trump they are. A list of donors including Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google have already lined up to contribute to the project. Defense contractors including Lockheed Martin and Palantir \u2013 who seem to know a thing or two about reducing beloved buildings to rubble<\/a> \u2013 are also reportedly<\/a> funding the project. If this sort of thing were happening in a developing country it might smack of corruption. But this is the United States, so it\u2019s obviously all above board.<\/p>\n National history aside, this sudden demolition of the first ladies\u2019 headquarters raises a lot of questions. If I lived in a house that I didn\u2019t own \u2013 one that I was scheduled to move out of in January 2029 \u2013 I probably wouldn\u2019t start an enormous and extremely controversial construction project. Why is Trump doing this?<\/p>\n The short answer is: because he wants to. As I think we all know by now, the president does whatever the hell he feels like regardless of norms, conventions or silly little laws. And, increasingly, there\u2019s nobody there to stop him. The only checks that Trump cares about are the ones made out to him and the only balances he is interested in are those of his bank accounts.<\/p>\n Trump has given a few rationales for the project that go beyond \u201cbecause I want to\u201d. He\u2019s argued that the old East Wing was no longer fit for purpose and a much larger space was needed. There are some people out there who agree with him. Gahl Hodges Burt, for example, who was social secretary for three years under Ronald Reagan, told the New York Times<\/a> that tearing down the East Wing to make space for the ballroom was unfortunately necessary and overdue.<\/p>\n Beyond practical issues, there\u2019s also ego. Trump\u2019s big-boy ballroom will be a big shiny monument to him long after he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n Still, you\u2019ve got to wonder whether this mega-project means the president is not actually planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Particularly since Trump doesn\u2019t seem to be the sort of person to start a large project he won\u2019t have a chance to personally enjoy. The US constitution\u2019s 22nd amendment makes it very clear<\/a> that a president cannot have more than two terms. But that hasn\u2019t stopped Trump from repeatedly teasing the idea that he might serve a third term<\/a>. In March, he told NBC News he was \u201cnot joking<\/a>\u201d about the idea and that there were methods for doing so.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s army of sycophants certainly seem to be exploring these methods. Earlier this year, the Tennessee Republican representative Andy Ogles proposed amending<\/a> the constitution to allow Trump to serve three terms. And this week, Trump\u2019s former White House chief strategist, Steven Bannon, told the Economist<\/a> that the president will \u201cget a third term\u201d. Bannon said that there\u2019s \u201ca plan\u201d to deal with the 22nd amendment and \u201cat the appropriate time\u201d they\u2019ll lay out the plan.<\/p>\n It may seem unthinkable that Trump could seek to serve a third term. To quote the president again, however: \u201cYou can\u2019t change history, but you can learn from it.\u201d And if there is one lesson to be learned from Maga history, it\u2019s that you should never underestimate Trump or overestimate the institutions that are supposed to keep his megalomania in check. The president will do anything he thinks he can get away with.<\/p>\n Google drops a key career resource program for women in tech<\/p>\n \u201cThe message it sends to women in tech, and really women in general, is that we cannot count on unwavering support from big corporations,\u201d one tech worker told CNN<\/a>. \u201cWe need to keep speaking up until we are heard. Google helped to do that, and they decided to quietly turn their back on us.\u201d Google can\u2019t be wasting time thinking about equality for women \u2013 it\u2019s got Trump\u2019s ballroom to fund!<\/p>\n Misty Copeland takes her final bow at retirement show<\/p>\n In 2015, Copeland became the first Black female principal dancer<\/a> in the American Ballet Theatre\u2019s 75-year history.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to The Week in Patriarchy<\/p>\n Get\u00a0Arwa Mahdawi\u2019s\u00a0weekly recap of the most important stories on feminism and sexism and those fighting for equality<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Japan allows over-the-counter \u2018morning after\u2019 pill for first time<\/p>\n The emergency contraception<\/a> is currently available without prescription in more than 90 countries.<\/p>\n Sanae Takaichi elected Japan\u2019s first female prime minister<\/p>\n Does this mean that she will usher in more egalitarian policies? Unfortunately, it\u2019s looking unlikely. Takaichi cites Margaret Thatcher<\/a> as an influence and appointed just two women<\/a> to her 19-member cabinet. She opposes same-sex marriage and is against changes to succession laws that would allow female members of the imperial household to become reigning empresses.<\/p>\n Foreign journalists are still not allowed in Gaza<\/p>\n The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has said it is disappointed<\/a> in the Israeli supreme court\u2019s decision to grant the state of Israel another delay regarding the independent entry of journalists into Gaza. It\u2019s a shame that more journalists in the western media aren\u2019t screaming at the top of their lungs about the murders of their colleagues<\/a> in Gaza and this assault on press freedom \u2013 not to mention the fact that Israel is still not allowing<\/a> adequate aid into Gaza. At the very least, the western media should be asking what it is that Israel doesn\u2019t want reporters to see. Evidence of torture<\/a>, perhaps?<\/p>\n Settlers nearly club a Palestinian woman to death<\/p>\n The United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs recorded<\/a> 71 incidents of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank across just one week. These include a brutal attack on a 55-year-old woman that was caught on camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n The week in pawtriarchy<\/p>\n