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\n\tThere\u2019s a concept in sports called \u201cworking the refs.\u201d Basically, it means whining, moaning, and complaining so that you get better calls. Maybe some wheedling, maybe even some good old-fashioned palling around. The only times it\u2019s really, truly effective, however, are when the refs are already on your side, for reasons fair or foul.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tDonald Trump<\/a> loves \u2014 loves<\/em> \u2014 to work the refs. And in most cases, he hired them. On Friday, Trump dumped a long diatribe on Truth Social<\/a> making a direct appeal to the Supreme Court over the status of his costly, ugly, and wholly unnecessary<\/a> ballroom<\/a> project, which was halted by a federal appeals court ruling earlier that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C. upheld a preliminary injunction that had also gummed up construction. The original case, filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, alleged<\/a> that Trump did not seek proper authorization from Congress before starting on the 90,000-square-foot, $400 million dollar renovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEach \u200cPresident is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House,\u201d the court\u2019s ruling on Friday said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe ruling is on hold for 14 days to allow Trump to appeal to the Supreme Court, which he was always going to do. But even that modicum of dissent was always bound to set Trump off, and sure enough, off he went. The ballroom, he wrote, was \u201ctotally secure\u201d and \u201cdesperately needed.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe Circuit Court\u2019s decision, which is totally wrong on the vital subject of STANDING, of which the plaintiff has none, severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people who work, and will be working, at the White House \u2014 including all future Presidents of the United States, and their families, as well as the lives of all those visiting, such as Heads of State and other Dignitaries, and all Americans who wish to visit the historic, beautiful Executive Mansion,\u201d Trump wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s all one sentence, by the way, plucked out of many sentences of similar lengths. \u201cThis unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety,\u201d he went on. \u201cThank you for your attention to this deeply important National Security matter!\u201d<\/p>\n