Trump's White House Ballroom: Why Everyone's Fighting Over a Building Project
President Trump is building a new ballroom at the White House, and predictably, everyone has lost their minds. Some people see it as a practical addition for official events. Others see it as an extravagant monument to Trump's ego being permanently installed in the people's house. Today, we're talking about why a ballroom has become yet another flashpoint in American politics, and whether maybe we're all just exhausted and looking for things to be angry about.
I (Jolene) get why people are upset about this, but honestly, the ballroom doesn't bother me. Here's why: it's being funded by private donations, not taxpayer money. Every president leaves their mark on the White House - renovations, updates, changes that reflect their time in office. Trump sees this ballroom as his legacy project, and since he's not using public funds, I don't see the problem. Having a dedicated space for official events instead of constantly setting up temporary solutions is actually practical.
Nicole's reaction wasn’t too dissimilar as far as understanding the need for a larger space for events, but from a Liberal’s perspective, the ballroom feels like Trump literally building a monument to himself in the White House. It's not just about the money; it's about what it represents. At a time when Americans are struggling financially, when budgets are tight and people are worried about making ends meet, building an opulent ballroom feels tone-deaf and dismissive.
This reaction isn't new. Every time a president makes changes to the White House, people freak out. Truman gutted and rebuilt the interior. Roosevelt added the West Wing. Obama put in a basketball court. Each time, there was criticism, outrage, and accusations of overreach or extravagance. Change to the White House, regardless of who's making it, triggers something in people.
Maybe it's because the White House isn't just a building - it's a symbol. It represents American democracy, the presidency, and our shared history. When someone changes it, especially someone as polarizing as Trump, it feels personal. It feels like they're not just renovating a building but altering something that belongs to all of us.
What strikes me (Nicole) is how this ballroom controversy reveals our broader exhaustion with everything Trump-related. People are tired. We've been in a constant state of political outrage for too long, and every new thing - even a ballroom - becomes another battle. Maybe if a different president proposed this, the reaction would be different. Or maybe we're all just so worn down that everything feels like an attack.
What's particularly frustrating is how mean the discourse has become. It's not enough to disagree about the ballroom; people have to attack anyone who sees it differently. If you think the ballroom is fine, you're a Trump supporter. If you think it's inappropriate, you're suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome. There's no room for nuance, no space for "I see both sides" or "it's complicated."
Jolene's right that we've forgotten how to talk to each other. We've replaced conversation with judgment, dialogue with dismissal. If someone disagrees with us, they're not just wrong - they're stupid, evil, or brainwashed. This isn't just about politics anymore. It's about our complete inability to engage respectfully with people who see the world differently.
Social media has made this so much worse. You can fire off a harsh judgment in seconds, never having to look the person in the eye or consider their humanity. Anonymity strips away empathy, turning every discussion into a battlefield where the goal is winning, not understanding. We've gamified outrage, rewarding the snarkiest takedown and the most extreme position.
The divisions in this country are deep, and they're not going away because we yell louder or post meaner comments. If anything, the hostility is making things worse, pushing people further into their corners, making compromise feel like betrayal and understanding feel like weakness.
So where do we go from here? We keep talking. Patiently, openly, even when it's uncomfortable. We look past the headlines and examine the substance. We ask ourselves why something bothers us and whether our reaction is proportional to the actual issue. And we listen to people who see it differently, not to find ammunition for our counterargument, but to genuinely understand their perspective.
The ballroom controversy is a perfect example of how everything has become politicized and weaponized. It's not just a building project - it's a symbol of everything people love or hate about Trump. It's a proxy war for larger battles about wealth, power, priorities, and what America should be.
But maybe, just maybe, we could try approaching it with curiosity instead of rage. Why does this bother me so much? What does my reaction reveal about my values and fears? Can I understand why someone might see this completely differently without assuming they're a terrible person?
The ballroom will get built and Trump will leave office eventually. But the way we treat each other, the way we engage with people who disagree with us, the way we choose dialogue over dismissal - that's what will determine whether we can actually function as a country.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
White House Information: White House Official History:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/
News and Analysis: Jessica Yellin (Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQK8_hUEluJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The Hill - 5
Takeaways from East Wing Construction:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5570860-trump-white-house-ballroom-east-wing-takeaways/
The Hill - White House Releases Donor List:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5569197-major-companies-fund-whitehouse/
Good for the Soul:
Monica Lewinsky's Reclaiming Podcast:
https://wondery.com/shows/reclaiming-with-monica-lewinsky/
Ken Colman (Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOOLHvZhzxX/?igsh=MXBiaHA1ZGpjM3MzaA==
-
[00:00:00] nicole: She's conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't discuss politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should be talking about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you're having in your head that are too scared to say out loud.
[00:00:20] nicole: Welcome to. We've got to Talk Miss Jolene. Welcome. Well, thanks for having me, Nicole. Oh, yes, you're welcome. You're welcome. I couldn't do this thing without you, my friend. This is a good one.
[00:00:33] Jolene: I'm excited about this one. Wow.
[00:00:35] nicole: Wow. Wow, wow. Okay. Why don't you tell the lovely listeners and viewers what we're talking about today.
[00:00:40] Jolene: We are talking about the big beautiful ballroom at the White House and other things
[00:00:46] nicole: and other things like the, uh, changes in the timeline on the White House website, the history of the changes of the White House. And other things.
[00:00:59] Jolene: So [00:01:00] President Trump has, uh, already begun demolition on the East wing of the White House to build the, as he's calling it, the big beautiful ballroom.
[00:01:10] Jolene: So currently the space they have in the east, I don't even know they call it a ballroom. Uh, the East Room, east Wing of the White House. They have a, a meeting area that they have some functions, but it only seats 200 people.
[00:01:25] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:01:26] Jolene: So anything bigger than 200 people. So think state dinners and um, events, whatever that might be.
[00:01:34] Jolene: They either have to rent out other space around DC but most of the time they use tents and have it at as an outdoor, in an outdoor setting. Obviously that's limiting. In the winter, I'm sure they have heaters and they're, you know. Fancy tents and, and all that. But this new ballroom then will, um, allow 650 people to sit and make it an [00:02:00] opulent, uh, ballroom mm-hmm.
[00:02:03] Jolene: For the White House. Mm-hmm. And yes. It is all done by private donations. Mm-hmm. Not taxpayer money. So any of the pushback from people saying, is this really a time when we're, you know, cutting budgets and governments in a shutdown and people aren't getting paid? Is this really the right time to be building the big, beautiful ballroom?
[00:02:32] Jolene: And Trump said, Nope. It's all private donations, so it's okay. It doesn't, it will not impact the taxpayer.
[00:02:40] nicole: So the original price was 250 million and now they're saying it's 300 million. We have the same information that, uh, it is privately funded. They, he just released the donor list, uh, last Friday, which I will put in the show notes.
[00:02:58] nicole: This woman who [00:03:00] is. Uh, his national finance director, her name is Meredith O'Rourke, she raised the money, it goes into a 5 0 1 C for tax exemption and they were able to do a find a workaround. Uh, there was a loophole in the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act where parts of the White House are exempt and changes can be made.
[00:03:22] nicole: Jolene, how do you feel about this project? Number one, uh, and. Is how you feel about it, similar to how conservative media is highlighting it. I'm curious, I'm curious your thoughts and we'll start with that and then go forward.
[00:03:40] Jolene: Uh, it's a huge deal. It's a huge deal that he wants to undergo such a huge project for the White House.
[00:03:47] Jolene: But it, it's been pointed out in and of, and in all of the, the, um, I think conservative media or even the mainstream media that. Many presidents have done, um, [00:04:00] renovations to the White House in some way. In the, you know, in the 1948 it, Truman did a complete overhaul in modern time. You know, Obama put in a basketball court because that served him.
[00:04:11] nicole: There's always been pushback. It's never been private money. There's, there's always been pushback. People in general. I found this interesting to me because, um, the Jefferson put in the colon aids and people criticized it for being too aristocratic. Andrew Jackson's portico, there were complaints that he was spending money during an economic downturn.
[00:04:36] nicole: Teddy Roosevelt's, uh, 1902 West Wing complaints of expense. FDR added the east wing and a pool, and they got partisan pushback. And then Truman's, interior wall renovation got pushback. Um, and how it struck me that people don't like change in general. Right? So that this to [00:05:00] me. Is more of what it symbolizes than what it actually is.
[00:05:05] nicole: Yeah.
[00:05:06] Jolene: And I, and I think, um, I think I heard it and I'm not sure if it was the podcast that, um, that you had sent me, um, the dailies podcast. Oh, yes, yes, yes. On this, yes. Um, but I've heard it, I've actually heard it several places now. I think even Bill Maher talked about it and several other places, but the fact that it is going to live beyond his four years in the White House, these four years, eight years total that it lived, it's he's leaving this legacy of the big beautiful ballroom that won't.
[00:05:41] Jolene: Be demolished ever, probably in our lifetime. And so it's like his symbol, the thing that he did, will be there forever. So those people are like, who don't like Trump? Are are, they're gonna have this reminder.
[00:05:59] nicole: Absolutely. I [00:06:00] mean, of him, the, the people that are saying that it's illegal, it's not, it's not illegal.
[00:06:05] nicole: We can hate it. We, liberals can hate it. We can feel, you know, that it's the people's house and, and don't we get a say in Here is another situation where Congress is not stepping in. Right. It's just another reminder that we as, as liberals and as Democrats are like, can't anybody push back on the sky? And he's so opulent and I, I'll only speak for me, I don't care for his taste.
[00:06:33] nicole: I don't like all the gold. It's not my jam. Yeah, and I think a lot of people are just like, ah, like really, like you're saying, like it, I found the Daily fascinating in that way. It was like, of course we're like, it's like another slap in the face, like, ah, we're never gonna get rid of the sky. Like he's just putting his mark on it.
[00:06:54] nicole: I agree with you in some ways, Jolene, that because since I did [00:07:00] some research and realized that all presidents got pushed back, no matter. What party they were in. That made me think of like, human nature hates change and this makes sense, but this just seems so extra 'cause everyone's so tired and frustrated that this guy is just coming in and.
[00:07:24] nicole: What do you think about the private funding? What do you think of, did you look at this donor list? 'cause I did. No,
[00:07:30] Jolene: I I, I heard them talking about it on the podcast. Yeah. You know who the, who they are. Yeah. Um, you know, a lot of corporations. Yes. And then some, some private people as well. I think that the argument is are, is it a quid pro quo here that they're going to get something for giving to the ballroom?
[00:07:51] Jolene: I mean, you and I have talked about this in so many different regards, that this is the way Washington works. Yes. And [00:08:00] I mean, and it, and it happens on both sides of the aisle. Yes. And it, the people with the money are the people with the power. And we, if we've said it once, we've said it a hundred times. So, um.
[00:08:11] Jolene: And, and if they weren't giving money for the Big B beautiful ballroom, they'd be giving it for something else to curry favor with Trump. So I see it as a, as a benefit that we as taxpayers aren't having to pay for this $300 million opulent ballroom, that if he's got buddies that are gonna pay for it.
[00:08:33] Jolene: Great.
[00:08:34] nicole: I mean, it's interesting because I think before the podcast, before we did this, either I was naive or I just didn't think about it. I didn't understand how much behind the scenes. Like glad handing there is. I just, I just didn't really think it worked that way, which is kind of naive, I suppose. And the fact that he put out the [00:09:00] donor list, which I'll just throw a few out.
[00:09:02] nicole: Just Apple, Google, Microsoft, the CEO of Blackstone, Palantir. And Palantir was a huge donor for um, his birthday party slash Army Parade. Brought to you by Palantir. First down. First down, um, meta Lockheed Martin. And then I don't, I, you might have heard this on the daily podcast. Oh, and we'll put the daily podcast in the show notes.
[00:09:33] nicole: I thought it was like, oh yeah, this explains this a lot better than I'm really understanding because there's so much, um, feeling. I'm gonna be kind about it, feeling around it that it's hard to know what's true and what's not true. But the, the reporter was like, who are Pepe and Amelia Fandule? And so I looked them up and they are Florida wealthy Republicans.
[00:09:59] nicole: [00:10:00] They have the corporation, Amelia, they were born very wealthy, born in Cuba and were socialites in Cuba. And then. Left. Left, you know, in the fifties or sixties, something like that. Um, when people were leaving and she, Amelia fan Jewel is already on the Kennedy Center Honors Board and they have given tons and tons and tons of money to pro-Trump packs.
[00:10:30] nicole: So, interestingly how you said, well, at least it's not public money that normally. Uh, we don't, as, as Americans, aren't privy to who's giving money to what and to whom. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And here is a list that we will put in the show notes of every single person and a corporation that is giving money to this ballroom.
[00:10:56] nicole: Mm-hmm. Whether you like it or don't, you're, you can look up these people and [00:11:00] figure out who they are. And if you wanna. Uh, protest them or not give money to their company or whatever. I don't know. Maybe again, this could be very naive that it's full disclosure that it's we're, we know who is giving, they don't tell you how much they're giving.
[00:11:15] Jolene: Here's the other way to look at this, because I think, um, just from a safety standpoint and, and obviously with all of the craziness that's going on in the world right now, you know, having an outdoor event with tents, and I understand it would be on White House grounds, but just the, the, um, the security and the logistics of that, I, I would think that.
[00:11:38] Jolene: Everybody would be behind, would be behind this if it weren't Trump. Yes. Like if, it was just like, if Congress would've said, Hey, we're doing this thing and here's why we can only get 200 people if we, and we have to run these tents, and if it's in the winter and blah, blah, blah. I think from a, from a logical standpoint, people would go, huh, that is, that's [00:12:00] probably something we need to have.
[00:12:01] Jolene: And then if they knew that we didn't have to pay for it and it was completely privately funded, everybody would go. Oh hell, it's a win-win. Would you agree? Yes, I would
[00:12:10] nicole: agree because I, well, it made me think Delta for a while had a bunch of, um, Jimmy Carter documentaries, um, on the plane. Uh, and it was right when he was about to turn a hundred some beautiful documentaries and.
[00:12:25] nicole: I learned more about him because I was a kid and we were kids when he was the president, and he did some good things and some bad things like most presidents. And one thing that I thought was interesting was that he was a huge proponent of solar and he put solar panels on the White House, which I had no idea.
[00:12:45] nicole: And as soon as I didn't either, Reagan was. Like day one when Reagan moved in, he's like, take those panels down. Oh. So it's like, really? Which makes me, it's like everyone has their mark, they move in and they wanna [00:13:00] make their mark like this is, and, and I would. Agree with you, Jolene, that there's, it's funny now that you talked about this Trump derangement syndrome.
[00:13:09] nicole: I'm hearing about it every day, which I never really did. Wait, seriously? I'm hearing about it every day. Really? Yeah. I mean, I kind of knew about it, but I just, and now I hear about it every single day and it makes me think that, yeah, this is really emotional for. For, I would just say liberals and Democrats, maybe some Republicans too.
[00:13:30] nicole: I, I can't imagine that everybody's totally psyched about it, but it's, it's that kind of thing that he's been doing from moment one of Trump second term, which is just the. Sort of the steamrolling, they throw everything at the wall and see what sticks and then they pivot like so that, okay, so that Americans can't like focus on one thing and fight about it.
[00:13:51] nicole: 'cause 5,000 things happen all at the same time. Right? Yeah. And so, yeah, I do think some people just don't like his taste and they don't like him and they're [00:14:00] pissed that he's putting his his mark on it. And I think it's like, Hey, slow down. And he just goes like he, he's had no permits, like he's just doing it, which people don't like change in the first place.
[00:14:15] nicole: Yeah. Let's just start there. Okay. Yeah. And then you have half of the people in this country that are so angry at this president. And when he goes and Steamrolls, people feel disregarded. They feel unseen, they feel unheard. They're frustrated that he seems to get away with. Everything, uh, whether you like him or not.
[00:14:40] nicole: I think this is an incredibly emotional topic and there are other things. It's funny that in a way that we're doing this topic today because it is a hot topic and yet so many other things in the world are so much more important than this. Yeah. And the other, and the other thing that we're gonna talk about, um, which has to do with [00:15:00] the, it's part of the construction process, but it's, it's the change of the White House website.
[00:15:06] nicole: Which we'll get into in a second. But like as this was happening, I saw a friend of mine post on her Instagram stories that like, while you're all freaking out about the White House Wing, all these major things have happened in Alaska where they're approving a construction and indigenous land. And I can't speak to it, but like lots of environmental things that people, um.
[00:15:34] nicole: I'm just, I'm not gonna say the left. I'm gonna say people that are really environmentally. Yeah, that's important. Conscious. Conscious, that's important to them. Yeah. They're very upset about, and no one is putting their focus on it because we're so pissed off about the East Wing, but we've
[00:15:49] Jolene: said, and haven't demolition.
[00:15:51] Jolene: We said that before. Yes. That he does this, that he has something that's going on over here and everybody gets outraged about it, but he's got five other things [00:16:00] happening over here and nobody. It's, you're all getting sidetracked because you're, you're looking at the shiny object instead of all the other things that are happening.
[00:16:09] Jolene: That's right. I think it's,
[00:16:11] nicole: that's
[00:16:11] Jolene: right. I mean, that is exactly what he does, but I think the bottom line is it's the permanency Yes. Of this building. I, I would agree with you that people Absolutely. Up in arms. I would agree with you.
[00:16:21] nicole: I don't know if Steve Bannon came up with this term Muzz velocity, but when Gavin Newsom interviewed.
[00:16:28] nicole: Steve Bannon, which I think was the third episode, which I was like, I can't believe I'm listening to Steve Bannon. But he was talking about this term muzzle velocity, and it was, it was absolutely on purpose. It's part of their strategy to just have us like follow the red.like. I don't, you know, just gerbils, like that's, I dunno, gerbil, but, uh, something, I don't know if it's a gerbils.
[00:16:53] nicole: A gerbil, yeah, hamster. Whoever falls red dots, um, and cats. Cats cat, I think it's kitty [00:17:00] cats. Yeah. And so as you and I, we, we recorded Thursday and we were like, okay, what are we gonna do Sunday? And Josh had sent a couple ideas and one was the East Wing demolition. So then. That Thursday night, I am like in the, in the side, like the room next to Josh and Jax, and I hear Joe, I hear Josh go, what?
[00:17:26] nicole: And he's laughing and I'm like, what's going on? And he goes, come here. And Jackson had showed us it's White house.gov and we'll put this in the show notes for you audio files that we love and adore that are listening to us on Apple and, and Spotify. Uh, but if you're watching on the YouTube, uh, we're gonna actually show you.
[00:17:48] nicole: So Jackson told us about this, uh, new update to the White House website, and I'm looking at this. And, and it seems very, you know. [00:18:00] Mundane, it's, it's under, it says major timeline events. You scroll down half the page and it's showing you the construction history of the White House and talks about, uh, some, you know, the design plans commence from 1791 to 1800, the rebuilding of the, after the war of 1812, the addition to the South Portico in 1824.
[00:18:24] nicole: Another addition to the North Portico, addition of the West Wing, uh, addition of the Oval Office, addition of the rose garden, addition of the East Wing, the total reconstruction, that was the Harry Truman interior wall situation, the addition of the briefing room in the early seventies, and then 1998 the Bill Clinton scandal.
[00:18:54] nicole: And it's a picture. And it's a picture of him and Monica Lewinski. And Monica Lewinski Uhhuh [00:19:00] in the Oval Office in 2012. It says Muslim Brotherhood visit and I, we'll explain these pictures in a second of Obama with a man. And if you look at this picture, Obama looks really young and Obama's got a turban on his head.
[00:19:17] nicole: Yes. And then this tennis pavilion, okay, fine. Was Melania's. I have seen this picture of Hunter Biden because you are so obsessed with Hunter Biden that now I do research on Hunter Biden, and this is one of his cocaine stupors. He was not in the White House. And then well, we don't know. No, no, we do. We do, we do.
[00:19:34] nicole: And then this is a picture of a trans woman who's naked holding her breasts, holding her breasts, her naked breasts, next to in front of the White House next to Biden. Now to clarify, everybody. Do we even need to say what the picture is of Clinton and poor Monica Lewinsky, who's 23 years old? No, I'm like enough.
[00:19:56] nicole: That poor girl. Okay. And maybe, we'll, also, I put in the [00:20:00] show notes, uh, Susan, one of our viewers who always gives us tons of ideas, she sent that Instagram. Saying, have you seen this? I'm like, oh, we're already gonna talk about it. Thank you Susan. Thank you Susan. So this political person that is on Instagram, I'm spacing out her name, she explained that that picture of President Obama, uh, it was taken in 2006, not 2012, it was when he was a senator and he was going to his home co his father's home country.
[00:20:36] nicole: To visit for the first time. And that was an elder from his father's village who has no ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. So there's that. And then the trans model definitely did take her top off at the pride event at Biden's White House. And after that, she was banned from [00:21:00] the White House.
[00:21:01] Jolene: You don't say, hmm.
[00:21:04] nicole: And that there is absolutely no evidence that Hunter Biden was in that tub high as a kite in the White House. First of all, he's a grown ass man. He didn't live there. I mean, all except they
[00:21:16] Jolene: did find the bag of cocaine in the White House, and there are several indications that it may have been his
[00:21:27] nicole: okay.
[00:21:29] nicole: Maybe that's true, but what does that have to do with the construction or the reconstruction of the White House? I was like, Jolene, I feel like you've raised children. What age are these people? Doing this to the website. Are they eight?
[00:21:50] Jolene: May, maybe nine. Maybe. Trump needs to be put in. Time out. I'm gonna take your phone away.
[00:21:55] Jolene: I'm gonna take your phone away for two days. How many? No, no, no. Because of your behavior. All these people under their
[00:21:59] nicole: [00:22:00] phone taken away for like a month. Like I like, what is this?
[00:22:04] Jolene: It is absolutely so unprecedented. Like it's just so immature and so Absolutely my friend. From Sweden. Is she gonna look at this and go, what in the hail is going on in your country?
[00:22:20] Jolene: Mm-hmm. How has it been acceptable to take the highest office in the land and m make a joke out of it? Now I, with all that being said, the point of it, and this was, this was something that, um, I heard on Fox News on Friday night and remember. The people who are on Fox News at night are not journalists.
[00:22:45] Jolene: They are strictly Well, I wondered, I said strictly for entertainment purposes. Well, I said you
[00:22:49] nicole: usually don't watch on Friday night on nights, and I don't That's exactly right.
[00:22:52] Jolene: Right. Had it on in my car when I got in the car. Okay. And I was, I was driving out and, and had it on. And so I was listening until I finally went, oh [00:23:00] no, I gotta listen.
[00:23:01] Jolene: Highway. I mean, country music. Oh, country music. Oh, okay. Is the, the station. Okay. Got it. Got it, got it, got it.
[00:23:08] nicole: I
[00:23:08] Jolene: think it was the Laura Ingram show. Okay.
[00:23:10] nicole: Yeah. Um, I remember her from my switching media sources. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. She's a toughie.
[00:23:16] Jolene: Um, yeah, she's, she's all Trump all the way. Mm. Um. But whoever she was interviewing said, you know, isn't this funny?
[00:23:25] Jolene: Like, this is funny that, that liberals are so outraged at Trump building this new ballroom that we put something outrageous on the website and now they're, you know, they can't believe that we did it. Isn't that funny? Like we're, we're showing how funny this outrage is because it doesn't, it, it's, it's false outrage.
[00:23:49] Jolene: It is. What's the term? Like displaced outrage.
[00:23:54] nicole: So she's suggesting it was a person she was
[00:23:55] Jolene: interviewing. Oh, she was interviewing somebody. The That's what in episode. But the person suggesting
[00:23:59] nicole: that is [00:24:00] saying they, they changed the timeline to poke fun of the liberals being outraged because that sounds so spinny to me.
[00:24:10] nicole: Because it just feels very mean and like I agree with you obviously that this is the highest. The highest position in the land. And I want some, I mean, he, he tacked 10% more tariffs on the Canadians. 'cause he was upset by a television commercial that, uh, had Reagan speak that clearly. They edited it the way they needed to because that's how it works.
[00:24:33] nicole: That's how it works, right? Everybody. But that he was so pissed that he was like, put some more tariffs on. And I'm just like, is, are you three? I mean, how old is how seriously.
[00:24:43] Jolene: Yeah. Yep. Right. I know. And, and that is the kind of stuff that absolutely drives me crazy for all of the good things that he could do.
[00:24:51] Jolene: And I know you're, I know there's so many of you. They're gonna go, what? I can't believe he said that. He doesn't do anything good. He does do some good things. It's just, [00:25:00] it's too bad that it comes to like, this tit for tat. You know this, you know, you do something outrageous. We're gonna do something outrageous and, and the point is that every president has done something.
[00:25:12] Jolene: To make the White House their own. Mm-hmm. Or to leave their mark or to, or to make it better, enhance it in some way, or update it or, you know, whatever. And so when by posting the Bill Clinton and the Obama and the Biden. Stuff on there. It was like, yeah, you wanna know what they did to the White House? I mean the whole, the, the Bill Clinton thing.
[00:25:35] Jolene: Like, that's funny. Really? You are worried about you liberals are worried about what we're doing, the building a ballroom. But do you know what he did it to the Oval Office? I mean, I think that's the comparison they're trying to make here.
[00:25:48] nicole: That's what Laura Ingram and her guest are suggesting. Yes. I'm so tired of being everybody being so mean.
[00:25:58] nicole: And so gross. [00:26:00] They're being so and immature. So immature, so mean, like, and obviously they just chose the Democratic presidents. They didn't put anything for um, Papa Bush and Baby Bush. We are better than this. I know we're better than this. I feel like this is truly what, why we've got to talk exists. What?
[00:26:26] nicole: We hope to model and, and sometimes honestly, Jolene, it feels almost too big. I have moments where I am just so struck by how divided we are. We talked about the Facebook situation the last couple days where we had a. Graphic for our freeing of the hostages episode. And to be quite frank, when I first saw the graphic I [00:27:00] reacted to and suggested, Hey, 'cause it said Peace 2025 on it.
[00:27:06] nicole: And I said, I, you know, emailed our our media team and said, Hey, I, can we change it to ceasefire or something? The word peace really rattled me and. Alex, who's our incredible. Um, he does all our amazing art and animation and we love him. And, hi Alex. Shout out. Uh, but he was like, uh, this is an official photo.
[00:27:32] nicole: And then I like zoomed in and you could see, yes, indeed. It was an actual set piece in front of the table where. Trump signed the deal with the Arab nations. I thought, okay, well it's an official photo and we were rushing doing a, a rush job to get it out, you know, jump the queue. And I thought, and with the time change, 'cause they're in Brisbane, it was like, we don't have time to switch the art.
[00:27:57] nicole: And I posted [00:28:00] that those, that, uh, picture with a long explanation of what this, what this, um, episode is about, and. No one's, no one reads anything. They just, the amount of hate, the amount of outrage, the amount of vitriol I felt gut punched. It was like there was this sense Jolene of, oh my God, how do we do this?
[00:28:30] nicole: What are we doing? I don't know if you ever feel this way, but it was this like, number one, a little bit of imposter syndrome. Like who are we to think that we can try and help? And then I would engage, and most of the time people were like, thank you for engaging, and they'd calm down. Some people were insistent on being mean, [00:29:00] and there were times that I just thought, well.
[00:29:03] nicole: It must really be hard if that's how you're feeling, if you feel so, uh, compelled to scream at someone you don't know and you're not wanting to be curious about it. And it made me feel I was really wiped out that day. Uh, by the end I felt. A little bit more hopeful and every time, you know, Thursday we got on to record, and every time I see your face, I know that we're doing a good thing here and I know that we aren't three years old and we're not being mean to each other and posting petty shit on.
[00:29:51] nicole: The government's website, like I'm just like, what planet are we on? I mean, the AI, memes and the. [00:30:00] He did some AI thing where he pooped on the cities and Cuomo did a horrible thing to Mom Donny the other day on Friday. And Mom Donny came out of a, he had been at a mosque like community, you know, he's still, um, is that when he met with the Imam?
[00:30:22] nicole: Maybe he was, you know, doing a campaign thing and this horrible AI video came out that Cuomo claims he didn't know, but it has his name on it and it's really mean, like it's so gross and mean. And mom, Donnie was crying. What? And I just thought, what are we doing? What are we doing? You might not agree with Mom, Donny.
[00:30:57] nicole: Yep. You might not agree with Cuomo, [00:31:00] but what are we doing everybody?
[00:31:04] Jolene: Well, and it's just, I mean, it's, it, I would say from from the other side, it is, you know, the mourning of an assassination of ch of Charlie Kirk and the people that continue to say, you know, call him a racist and that he deserved to die.
[00:31:20] Jolene: And, and, and even the counter protests on campuses where they're having, uh, a turning point. Uh, table, you know, to, to advertise for, for this organization. And now the counter protests or the, the protest for them having, you know, uh, asking for a chapter at that, at that university. And, and you're like, you, you have never listened to Charlie Kirk, have you?
[00:31:47] Jolene: I mean, or you've heard a snippet mm-hmm. That someone has altered, you know, and whether that's, you know, AI or if that's something that somebody has put together that we're so triggered. Now [00:32:00] to identify that, um, anybody who thinks differently from me is the bad guy. Mm-hmm. And I must lash out. I must let them know that they're the bad guy and, and I hate them.
[00:32:11] Jolene: I hate them because they think differently from me. The point is, we, we've just, we've learned to hate each other because of who we voted for. Yeah.
[00:32:20] nicole: Or because of who we support. And we're also in this way, Jolene, of like, not just hating, but like correcting. That doesn't work. Just heads up. Heads up everyone.
[00:32:32] nicole: It doesn't work. If you wanna ask someone, Hey, why do you feel that way? I'm very curious about that. That's a very different conversation than posting. You're wrong. This, I mean there was, there was post saying, this is horseshit. You are horseshit to us. Okay. And then saying what they needed to say, that doesn't really [00:33:00] make me actually wanna read that.
[00:33:01] Jolene: So it makes, it makes that person feel better about themselves because they saw someone that they can be angry at. Yeah. And direct their anger and then they feel better because they've gotten that off their chest. What about going for a walk and. You know, why are we, so, how have we gotten so well? We know the answer that we've gotten so wrapped up in social media and tidbits of information constantly hitting us all day, that if you don't have.
[00:33:36] Jolene: Any other outlet, if that is your outlet, if that is what you do on your downtime because you don't have a family or you don't have friends that you hang out with or you don't like to exercise, or you don't like sports, or you don't like to listen to music or watch the a, a play or go all these other things other than looking at your phone and getting riled up or looking at your [00:34:00] computer and getting riled up because this is all you have.
[00:34:05] nicole: Yeah,
[00:34:05] Jolene: go. Go do something else. Yeah, go do something else, because I'm telling you, the well adjusted people. Aren't spending a lot of time with politics. Politics is such a small portion of what our lives
[00:34:22] nicole: mean. Absolutely. When you've lost someone or you have sickness in your family or friends or it gets real clear what's important.
[00:34:31] nicole: It's not podcasts, it's not politics, it's people. It's friendships, it's love. Absolutely. Right. So yesterday I was with my, uh, one of my closest friend from acting school, her daughter Bella. Shout out Bella. She's like a pretend niece to me and I adore her. Hey Bella. Hey Bella. She used to go to NYU and now goes, uh, to Michigan, but she was visiting a friend.
[00:34:58] nicole: Uh, she's been here this [00:35:00] weekend. Uh, we met down near, uh, the World Trade Center, uh, Memorial and I live about five minutes from there. And we're sitting in this beautiful park that is just above the pools and she was saying, I've never been here before. And she wanted to know my experience, and I told her she didn't realize that I lived on first and first, and I was.
[00:35:31] nicole: At the time there weren't big highrises that are, that are there now. And I was walking to a yoga class and it was a gorgeous morning. And I saw the first plane, the American Airlines plane. It was very low and it turned and aimed and hit Tower one. And I remember I was in shock. Uh, there were a couple other people on the street.
[00:35:54] nicole: There was a woman, we didn't know each other, and we grabbed each other and held each other [00:36:00] and. Then people started to run out and you could see how quickly miscommunication can happen or misinformation. It was like, oh, is that a little plane? And we're like, no, it's an American Airlines plane. Life goes on.
[00:36:14] nicole: So I tell her the story of living downtown and being quarantined and all the things and running to, we all ran to hospitals to donate blood and the hospitals turned us away 'cause there were no bodies. And we, you'd see these refrigerated trucks on Houston Street, hun, hundreds of them waiting for bodies.
[00:36:36] nicole: There were no bodies. And you'd go to Union Square and there were these billboards with people would have all their pictures of their loved ones that were lost and people would come and you'd cry. And you'd grieve together. Then we went down, I said, would you like to go see the pools? And and she said, yeah.
[00:36:57] nicole: And she said, would you ever be a tour guide? I said, [00:37:00] absolutely not. I said, I was here. I said, when this memorial first opened, it was really upsetting 'cause people would take selfies and they were laughing and. It's really like, it was the wor one of the worst days of I think of the country's life. Um, and a lot of us are still very much alive that lived through it.
[00:37:22] nicole: So we're walking to the pools and she looked at me and she said, I don't think our generation could handle it. I don't think that they would react the way you all did. I don't think that we'd hug each other on the street. I think we'd just look at our phones. Mm. Which was so sad to me. Mm-hmm. But I also know how, how amazing she is, and I know how amazing Jax is, and I know how amazing my nieces are, and I know how amazing your daughters are.
[00:37:57] nicole: And I was like, but you would [00:38:00] hug someone. I know you would. I know this is a very roundabout way to say that. I do believe that there are more of us and that that's why this podcast is important.
[00:38:12] Jolene: I think you're right, and I also unfortunately think that it's going to take something catastrophic to get us back on track because as you said, you know at, at.
[00:38:27] Jolene: Like that was such a pivotal time in our country. We were all Americans on that day. You know, we all. Wanted to believe in the flag and the national anthem, and there was such this, this idea of patriotism that we, we all collectively have been attacked. And I even felt like Jolene,
[00:38:51] nicole: that there was a sense, I don't know if you felt this way, but being there, there was a sense that the world maybe just for one day, [00:39:00] that the world was so sad for us.
[00:39:04] nicole: Yeah. Yeah. There was this sense of like, absolutely. Wait, it happened there. Yeah. That's the place things aren't supposed to happen. Right? Right. We are the country that people have looked up to. And I, I think too, speaking of that, Jolene, I think also that's like all the be all the erratic behavior. The, I think liberals and, and Democrats would feel like it's sort of a disregard, has felt like.
[00:39:33] nicole: A sense of we're not that anymore. We're not what? We're not the place that people aspire to when we act like petty
[00:39:44] Jolene: mean. I would like to think that we are still, um, we're still the greatest country on earth, and even though we are, dang, we're in a tough time right now. We still have so many [00:40:00] things to be proud of and so many opportunities and this great experiment is still, um, one of the greatest things that I, that I think that we all should be proud of.
[00:40:14] Jolene: And it, it's, we're being tested. We are absolutely being tested on both sides, and it's sad. I hope that nothing catastrophic happens and we can get through this and get out of this and go, wow, what a crappy time that was. That is my hope too, my friend. Yeah. Okay. Deep breaths. Let's do good for the soul.
[00:40:36] Jolene: Yes. You ready?
[00:40:42] Jolene: My good For the soul today is Ken Coleman. C-O-L-E-M-A-N. We will have him in the show notes. Um, he is a public speaker, public figure, and he had on his Instagram page [00:41:00] this thing that I sent to, um, to Nicole about, you know, just because you vote for someone, like if you, if you were to start a conversation with, who did you vote for?
[00:41:13] Jolene: And whatever answer that is, you've already determined in your mind things about that person, that they're liberal, they're conservative, they don't believe in this, they believe in that, blah, blah. You've already, um, you've ascertained in your mind a set of, of, um, qualities that that person has without knowing anything about them.
[00:41:37] Jolene: Because of that one question. However, if you were to ask someone a question instead and find out what their answer is, and then I'm ask them, ask them another question and another question and another question soon you learn about that person. And I will tell you that happened to me, and I think we talked about this on a prior podcast, [00:42:00] that I sat down on a plane and, and typically I put my headphones in.
[00:42:04] Jolene: I don't wanna talk to anybody. I'm, I've. Been busy doing whatever it is. I just wanna get on a plane and I wanna be in my own little world. But I hadn't gotten to my headphones quick enough. And this lady sits down next to me and we start, you know, small chit-chat. She sat down, she was a black woman about my age, and she had a a t-shirt on, like a camouflage t-shirt on, and it had something written on it, but I couldn't tell what was, what was written on it.
[00:42:32] Jolene: And she said something about, um, her husband being, um, in a, a couple rows back and I said, oh, do you guys wanna sit together? I would be happy to move. We, I could switch places with him. And, and she said, no, no. She's like, no, I'd rather actually rather just have you sit here. And we both laughed. I mean, it was like, that was funny.
[00:42:56] Jolene: So we strike up this conversation then. So then I'm like, okay, now I'm [00:43:00] intrigued. And so the preconceived notion that I had of who she was, was completely false. She was a republican. She was, um, extremely conservative and she was military. She was ex-army. She, um, had a great story about the army, uh, and, and that she went into the army as a 19-year-old and, and how it changed her life and how it changed her life.
[00:43:26] Jolene: And it, she was, um, a really, really lovely person that I completely enjoyed talking to. Because she had so many great stories of her family and, and, um, her. Upbringing and, and all this. And, and then married and, and her successful, she had two wildly successful daughters. But here is what happened. My very first question to her was, um, because then after I, I saw her t-shirt and it said something about Army on there.
[00:43:58] Jolene: Um, this was right after [00:44:00] the, the Army parade. Oh, okay. And the, you know, 250th birthday of the Army. And my question to her was, oh. What did you think of, of the Army parade by asking that question. I got that she was conservative because she said, I love Trump. I love that he did this. I loved da da, da.
[00:44:22] Jolene: Here's my experience, blah, blah, blah. Instead of, you know, instead of asking who did she vote for? Or I, I instantly got to know her because of the questions that I was asking her. And, um, and what a lesson that was for, for me to go, okay, I know who this person is sitting next to me, and I had no idea who she was,
[00:44:44] nicole: but what I'm gathering is that you thought, oh, she's a democrat, she's liberal, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[00:44:50] nicole: Yep. Would you have enjoyed talking to her? Yes. I mean, that's the thing. Like I know that about you. You have a ton of liberal friends. You just really like [00:45:00] people, which is one of the things I love about you
[00:45:03] Jolene: because I wanna learn. Yeah, I want to learn. We had, when Kelly and I were in Chicago last week, we had an Uber driver who was taking us to a restaurant.
[00:45:12] Jolene: And I said, uh, are you from here? And he said, yep. Grew up on the south side. And I go, tell me about your city right now. And he went on to say, we've always had crime. Don't believe what they say in the media because there's no more crime now than there is, than there was when I was growing up. And I mean, and, and our Uber was like a 30 minute drive.
[00:45:36] Jolene: So we got to hear all of. All of his perspective, and it was completely different than what my perspective is mm-hmm. Of what's going on in Chicago. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I loved hearing that.
[00:45:47] nicole: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:48] Jolene: So, I mean, it's, it, you now, you've gotta be open to listening to people and. Hearing them and, and listening to what his perspective was because he grew [00:46:00] up on the south side as opposed to my friends who live downtown now and what their perspective is.
[00:46:06] Jolene: Of course, it's two different perspectives, of course. And, and gosh. And that's okay. Yes. And it's okay. That they have completely two different perspectives of what their city is and their what they're experie, their view of their city right now. Mm-hmm. Yep. Absolutely. And because they may be seeing the same thing, but, but it's different to them because of where they live, what they've grown up with.
[00:46:29] Jolene: Yes. What their experience, who their people are, all that. Yes, exactly.
[00:46:34] nicole: Exactly. 'cause we're all different and all of the experiences we have make us who we are. Yeah. Yep. I love that. I love that.
[00:46:44] Jolene: And that's what America's about. Yes. I mean, that is the beauty of America. Yes. Is that we make it work. Yes. And we've stopped trying to make it work.
[00:46:54] Jolene: Yes. And we've And we've started trying to change it.
[00:46:57] nicole: Yes. Sing it [00:47:00] Sister. I'm gonna sing it.
[00:47:06] nicole: Oh, that's good. Okay. That's good. What's your good for the soul? So, my good for the soul is real simple. I am gonna shout out to Monica Lewinsky's podcast reclaiming because that poor woman has been through hell and high water. God bless her. And I think she started her podcast a couple weeks before we did, and it's great.
[00:47:28] nicole: It's great. She has conversations with I, well, the first, the first one was her, uh, her, uh, talking about her story and it was moving and yeah. Sad and vulnerable and really ballsy. I just, I was like, girl, good for you. And I was, I've been listening to the Alison Janney one who is currently, she's an actor and she's currently on the Diplomat, which I love.
[00:47:55] nicole: I
[00:47:56] Jolene: love too. Do you,
[00:47:57] nicole: have you watched this new season? Yes. [00:48:00]
[00:48:00] Jolene: Yes, we are, I think we're on episode three of the new season. Okay. We're two.
[00:48:04] nicole: It's just like two girlfriends talking, but, you know, asking questions and stuff and I am just, I'm really happy for her. She's been through so much and, and let's give her some love.
[00:48:14] nicole: 'cause God knows she doesn't need this nonsense. So that's it. That's my good for the soul and how stupid were all of, all of us when we were that age. And the poor girl was, she was the one that was demonized. I mean, that's a whole nother story. Do you have a, would you rather, my dear? Yes. All right.
[00:48:39] nicole: Would you rather labor under a hot sun or extreme
[00:48:46] Jolene: cold?
[00:48:47] nicole: So
[00:48:48] Jolene: labor work not Um, yes. I felt like be in labor. Not be in labor.
[00:48:53] nicole: I wasn't thinking that. I was thinking because of the construction of the White House I Okay. [00:49:00] Of the ballroom. Would you like labor as in work? You know, manual labor in the hot sun or extreme cold, I might have to go with
[00:49:12] Jolene: hot sun.
[00:49:14] Jolene: Okay. Because I think, I mean, trying to work in the cold, I mean, if you've got. If you've got gloves on and all this all, yeah. I don't think you can wear gloves, your sweaters and, yeah. I mean, how are you, you'd have to, you'd have to have gloves on I guess. I guess you'd have frostbite. Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with hot.
[00:49:36] nicole: Okay.
[00:49:36] Jolene: That's what I got. What would you do?
[00:49:38] nicole: Cold? The redhead in me. I get heat stroke. It's too much. I can't, it's too much. Yeah. Okay. That was a simple one, but there you go. Sometimes they're simple. Yep. I love it.
[00:49:49] Jolene: Okay. In the spirit of talking about the big, beautiful ballroom, oh, Jesus. All right. Would you rather get invited to the first White House ball?
[00:49:59] Jolene: [00:50:00] Or be the DJ for it.
[00:50:03] nicole: Okay. Okay. Did you hear that in the Daily that, that Trump loves to dj, like dj, that he, DJs like oldies, and what else did he say? Like, what are the songs? Oh, Gloria, Gloria. Gloria. Gloria. Gloria. Which it turns out is the, yep. St. Louis Blues mm-hmm. Became a St. Louis Blues. Um, it, it, yeah.
[00:50:23] nicole: When they went to the finals, uh. I think they won. Oh, wow. Yeah. And Gloria ended up being their song, they became superstitious, so they had to play it all the time. Okay. Would I rather be the DJ or be invited? Absolutely. The dj. Hold on a second, because like now that we're doing this podcast, things have changed everything.
[00:50:47] nicole: Because maybe I would wanna be invited to the ball to talk to all the people. And if I'm being the DJ, that I'm hiding behind the music and I can't talk to anyone. And this might be an opportunity [00:51:00] to get in with all of the conservatives. Mm-hmm. And talk to them and dance with 'em. And maybe
[00:51:09] Jolene: because
[00:51:09] nicole: maybe
[00:51:10] Jolene: conservatives love to dance.
[00:51:12] Jolene: Do they
[00:51:12] nicole: really? I dunno, I'm just, I know liberals do, but I don't know if I really wanna dance to Gloria, but I guess I would, because I'm guessing that if I'm invited to that ball, then Trump is the dj. God bless. I mean,
[00:51:27] Jolene: you're dancing to YMCA.
[00:51:30] nicole: I can't. I can't. You're going
[00:51:31] Jolene: to, you're gonna go out there and do the YMCA, you know,
[00:51:34] nicole: I will listen.
[00:51:37] nicole: If we can get some toge Yes. If we can get some policies together, come on. I would. I would do it. I would do it for the liberals.
[00:51:47] Jolene: So speaking of which, if you would like to be a sponsor for, we've got to talk. This is your opportunity if you like what we're saying and you like what we're doing [00:52:00] and you like that we're what we're trying to do?
[00:52:02] Jolene: Mm-hmm. Ah, we're trying to do, are trying. Good things. We're really trying,
[00:52:07] nicole: trying.
[00:52:08] Jolene: And you know what? You know what would help is if you subscribe. Oh, yes. And if you share, click on that button, please hit the subscribe button and hit share and share it with somebody. Yes. And just say, you know what? I think you should listen to these gals and then about your life, and think about what you have.
[00:52:27] Jolene: That you, do you own a business? Do you know somebody who owns a business? Mm-hmm. Do you work for a business that maybe would like to sponsor? We've got to talk. We are looking for sponsors. Please go to our website if you are interested.
[00:52:39] nicole: Yes. And our website is www. We've got to talk.com. Go to the contact page, put in your details, and we will get right back to you.
[00:52:49] nicole: And truly like, thank you. Like, like middle of the night. Yeah, like the middle of the night. We will, we will see it and well, it might be the middle of the night 'cause it'll, it will be Australia. It'll go to Australia and then it'll bounce back [00:53:00] to us.
[00:53:00] Jolene: Mm-hmm. We'll see it.
[00:53:02] nicole: We will
[00:53:02] Jolene: see it and we'll answer it.
[00:53:03] Jolene: Yes. We appreciate you all so much. Thank you for listening and for watching and for allowing us to come into your lives to share our thoughts and we would love to hear yours. If you would please comment on our social media pages or get on our website, leave a comment, but make it a happy one. I mean don't,
[00:53:23] nicole: or a question, just don't.
[00:53:24] nicole: If you have a question or we're also open, if you have topics, we're open to, would you rather questions?
[00:53:31] Jolene: Oh, give us your, would you rather,
[00:53:33] nicole: if you have a good for the soul that you like, please, like this is a community and we wanna, we really are. We wanna know you and we wanna, we welcome all of you.
[00:53:45] Jolene: Absolutely.
[00:53:46] nicole: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, friend. Thank you. I'll see you on the flip. Bye-bye. Bye.
[00:53:56] nicole: We've got to Talk is produced across the world by the wildly [00:54:00] talented, creative, and hilarious team. At Bambi Media, our theme song is Jump Drive, swing by Space Train Unlimited. Thank you so much for listening, and join us every week for another episode of We've Got To Talk.
