Covering the White House, I believe, is the best job in journalism. For nine years - eight under President Obama and one under Trump - I was at the White House every day for the daily briefing.

Even though it was part of my daily routine, I never walked up that West Wing driveway without getting goosebumps. For me, it was like entering the Holy of Holies. Like the feeling a Catholic gets walking into St. Peter's, or a Muslim entering the Blue Mosque, or a Jew praying at the Wailing Wall.

And not once did I ever say to myself: how much better this place would be if it only had a big ballroom. Not once did I ever think I'd see the day when a president could demolish any part of that sacred building. Nor did I ever imagine that a president could destroy the entire East Wing of the White House - and get away with it!

Yet that's exactly what's happening today. By the time you read this, the East Wing, built in 1902 to house the offices of the first lady and serve as a visitors entrance to the Executive Mansion, will no longer exist. It will have been totally destroyed to make room for Trump's $300 million, 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom - twice the size of the main building - modeled on the ballroom at his Turnberry golf course in Scotland.

Of course, this isn't Trump's first attempt to reshape the White House to his own liking. He planted two gigantic flag poles, one on the North Lawn, one on the South, which are totally out of proportion to the White House. He's decked the walls of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room with bordello-like gold designs. And he destroyed the historic Rose Garden, turning it into an exact replica of Mar-a-Lago's paved patio, complete with tacky cocktail tables and umbrellas. He even calls it the "Rose Garden Club."

But this is by far Trump's biggest and most outrageous move - and the one he's lied most about. On July 25, Trump first told reporters something he now repeats daily: "They've wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years." Which begs the question: Who? Name one president, Republican or Democrat, who said they yearned for a ballroom. Trump can't. He was lying then, and now.

In that same exchange with reporters, Trump said: "It'll be built over on the east side, and it will be beautiful. It won't interfere with the current building. It'll be near it, but not touching it." Big lie. Cut to video of a giant crane ripping the walls off the East Wing and flattening it.

Hillary Clinton is right: "It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it." But apparently there's no way to stop him. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 doesn't cover the White House. Technically, changes to the White House must be approved by the National Capitol Planning Committee, but all 12 members of the old committee were fired by Donald Trump, and its new Trump-appointed chairman is in Trump's pocket.

Not even the White House Historical Association, which you'd expect to stand up and protect the White House, has uttered a peep of protest. Instead, WHHA President Stewart D. McLaurin merely echoed official White House propaganda, insisting that what Trump's doing is no different from what Harry Truman did. Baloney! In 1949, when building engineers declared the White House unsafe for occupancy, Truman had to move out so the White House could be totally gutted and rebuilt. That's far different from tearing down an entire wing of the White House to build your own pet project.

For Republicans in Congress, blowing $300 million on a vanity ballroom could not come at a worse time, in the middle of a government shutdown, with tens of thousands of federal employees struggling without a paycheck and health care subsidies about to double or triple for millions of Americans. But cowardly Republican leaders Mike Johnson and John Thune don't care. They'd support Trump if he painted the White House orange and put a big "T" on top of it.

In a way, Trump's destruction of the East Wing is the perfect metaphor for his second term. In just 10 months, he has bulldozed everything we once thought untouchable, including: the Constitution, the Justice Department, the FBI, the Defense Department, the National Institute of Health, and the US Agency for International Development. To that list now add: the White House.

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'No Kings' day: Time to take to the streets!

Good friends: I guess there's a first time for everything. This column is a two-fer: the first time in more than 25 years that I've devoted a column to more than one subject, and the first time I've used a column to promote any event. But the times demand a break with business as usual.

If there's any way possible, I urge you to take part in a "No Kings" protest this Saturday, Oct. 18. Check it out. There's bound to be one near you. Put your walking shoes on. Get off the couch. It's important.

On June 14, more than 5 million Americans showed up at 1,800 sites for the first "No Kings" protest, organized by a coalition of groups including Public Citizen, MoveOn, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Civil Liberties Union. Peaceful protests were also held in U.S. territories and 20 foreign countries. There was no report of violence anywhere.

For the second "No Kings," on Oct. 18, more than 2,500 events are scheduled across the country - and, after suffering through nearly nine months of Donald Trump, enthusiasm is even higher.

The "No Kings" protests, of course, are inspired by none other than Trump himself. On Feb. 19, while announcing he was intervening to end a New York City "congestion pricing" plan put in place by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Trump trumpeted on Truth Social: "Long Live the King." That same day, the White House released a mock image of Time magazine with Trump on the cover wearing a crown. He really thinks he's king. And he governs more like an authoritarian every day.

If you don't think Trump's still not done enough to justify our taking to the streets in protest, consider what happened this month alone.

Shutdown. Trump has illegally used the government shutdown that he ordered to fire 4,000 federal employees so far. OMB Director Russell Vought says total firings could be "north of 10,000." Why? Not because they did anything wrong. But because, according to Trump, they work on "Democrat programs." In other words, programs that help working families, not Trump's billionaire buddies. Like WIC, or food assistance to women, children and infants; SNAP, or food stamps; school lunches; special assistance for students with disabilities; poultry and meat safety inspectors; housing discrimination enforcers.

Argentina. Even though he's provided no assistance to help American farmers, who've lost access to critical foreign markets because of Trump's tariffs, Trump did manage to come up with $20 billion to bail out Argentina, even though he admitted it would be of absolutely no benefit to the United States.

Venezuela. Following Trump's orders, the U.S. military struck and destroyed another small boat off the coast of Venezuela, which was allegedly carrying narcotics. Six people on board were killed. Like with four other boats bombed, Trump provided no evidence that the boat was transporting drugs, no reason for using the military rather than the Coast Guard, and no justification for what is clearly a violation of U.S. and international law. Kings don't have to.

Cities. Kings don't have to respect locally elected leaders, either. Trump has already sent or attempted to send National Guard troops into Los Angeles; Washington, D.C; Portland, Oregon; Chicago and Memphis. He has also threatened to send them into New York, San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis and New Orleans - all cities led by Democratic mayors, all to combat a "crime wave" that doesn't exist.

Ballroom. In a gross demonstration of the old political adage "pay to play," Trump held a White House dinner for more than three dozen fat cats who coughed up $250 million to pay for his favorite project: a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Selling access to the White House and the president used to be unthinkable. Trump revels in it.

And, mind you, those were outrages committed this month alone. Not to mention canceling climate change programs; shutting down infrastructure projects; ending critical medical research at NIH, CDC and universities; and unleashing the Justice Department against his perceived political enemies. Such actions not only justify our taking to the streets in protest. They demand it!

As we've sadly discovered, all the guardrails we thought would prevent an authoritarian presidency don't exist. This Congress won't stop him. This Supreme Court won't stop him. Nobody inside his administration will stand up to him. It's up to us. Only we, the people, can stop him. And must.

When he was asked about Oct. 18, Trump told reporters: "I hear very few people are gonna be there, by the way." Let's prove him wrong.

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It's hard to warm up to James Comey, and I never will. In fact, more than anyone else, I think Comey's the one who saddled us with Donald Trump.

As FBI director in July 2016, Comey announced that the agency had found "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information" and would therefore file no criminal charges against then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton guilty for her misuse of personal email as secretary of state. But then he went over the line, accusing Clinton of being "extremely careless" in doing her job. Strike one.

Strike two. Three months later, on October 28, just 11 days before the election, Comey notified Congress that the FBI was reopening the Clinton investigation, based on newly discovered emails - only to announce on November 6, two days before the election, they were again dropping any charges because of lack of evidence. Strike Three.

But by then it was too late. Negative headlines about the Clinton email controversy dominated the last week of the campaign. Clinton's lead in the polls plummeted. I'm not the only political strategist to blame Comey's reopening of the investigation as a major factor in Clinton's loss in the election.

By that standard, perhaps we should rejoice in the irony that Comey himself is now being charged with a crime and dragged into court by the very man he helped elect in 2016. If only life were that simple. In fact, the opposite is true. We should be outraged by Comey's treatment and alarmed by what it means for the rest of us.

The fact is, Comey's indictment has nothing to do with the pursuit of justice. It is nothing but pure political revenge, the culmination of almost 10 years of personal attacks Donald Trump has waged against his own former FBI director, blaming him for launching the "Russia, Russia, Russia" investigation. If re-elected, Trump bragged about unleashing the powers of the Justice Department against his political enemies, starting with Comey. Last week, he finally succeeded, as the DOJ charged Comey with lying to Congress - five years ago - when he denied asking a friend to leak information to the media.

As we know, that happened only because Trump made it happen. With the clock running out, Trump publicly criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi for not yet having prosecuted any of his political enemies. "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," Trump bellowed on Truth Social, "JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"

Trump didn't stop there. He said Comey was "guilty as hell" and called him a "dirty cop." When Erik Siebert, US attorney for Eastern Virginia, decided there wasn't enough evidence to bring a case against Comey, Trump abruptly fired him and appointed his former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan, a woman with no prosecutorial experience, who immediately overruled her staff and, as Trump demanded, charged Comey on two counts.

Now comes the hard part: convincing a jury of Comey's guilt. Which may be easier said than done. And which, in fact, according to an ABC News bombshell, may prove to be impossible. The day after Comey appeared in court, ABC reported that DOJ's key witness - the man Comey allegedly urged to leak to the media - has told DOJ investigators and other sources the exact opposite: that Comey actually advised him NOT to talk to the media.

With such a weak and purely political case, a jury may find Comey not guilty or his case could be tossed out before it begins. No matter. Here's what's really scary: With criminal charges brought against Comey, Trump has already achieved his goal of turning the Justice Department into his own personal political hit squad for prosecuting his political enemies.

We know Trump won't stop here. Today, it's James Comey. Tomorrow, it'll be former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Sen. Adam Schiff, Fed Board Member Lisa Cook, philanthropist George Soros, or New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump's determined to throw them all in jail, and he has an attorney general more than happy to carry out his orders. In effect, the Department of Justice doesn't exist anymore. We might as well call it what it is: the Department of Revenge.

But here's what Bondi and other Trump lapdogs around her don't realize: Revenge works both ways. Someday, the tables will be turned. If I were AG Pam Bondi, Deputy AG Todd Blanche or FBI Director Kash Patel, I'd already be hiring my own attorney.

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Trump and Hegseth's message to the military: You all suck!

Two of the most dangerous words in the English language are: "What if?" They can easily divorce you from reality and suck you into endless hours of pure speculation: What if James Comey hadn't released that last-minute report on Hillary Clinton's emails? What if Merrick Garland hadn't waited so long to file charges against Donald Trump? What if Joe Biden had only dropped out earlier?

But this week, watching video from the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, I couldn't resist: What if there were a thought bubble over the heads of more than 800 top-ranked generals and admirals forced to abandon their posts, fly around the globe and sit there like school kids to be lectured to by newbie "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth?

No need for speculation here. We know what they - everyone of whom has more experience and knows vastly more about the military than Hegseth - were thinking. Even omitting obscenities, no doubt their reactions ranged from: "What does this Fox News pretty boy know about the military?" to "He's out of his f----g mind."

Their body language said it all. They didn't laugh, applaud or nod in approval. They just sat there silently, clearly not happy to hear this drivel. One year ago, Hegseth was a weekend talk show host on Fox News. This year, he's strutting across the stage like a peacock, telling our most-senior military leaders how to do their jobs. It was humiliating, embarrassing and insulting. And costly. God only knows how much it cost to fly them all there. Doesn't Hegseth know how to use email? Or Zoom?

Boiled down, Hegseth's message could be summed up as: "You all suck. You're too weak, too soft, too fat, and too many of you have your titles only because you're a woman, or gay or Black." The ideal soldier is male, straight and white.

The Pentagon must adopt a "warrior ethos," Hegseth told the generals. Which means returning to the "1990 test" - when women were barred from combat and LGBTQ Americans were banned from serving. To which he added several ultimatums. They all had to shave facial hair. "No more beardos." Lose weight. No more "fat generals in the halls of the Pentagon." Do a strenuous workout every day. And take a PT test twice a year.

The military's new rule is the "highest male standard," Hegseth declared. Then, dismissing the thousands of women who are now serving, and have served with distinction, in both support and combat roles in the military, Hegseth sniffed: "If women -- and weak men -- don't make the grade, so be it."

As part of his clean face, trim body campaign, Hegseth did not say whether Vice President J.D. Vance would have to shave his beard or if Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump would have to lose 60 pounds.

But as bad as Hegseth's Quantico performance was, Trump's was even worse. Hegseth came with a message. Trump came with a rambling, incomprehensible monologue in which he attacked Barack Obama and Joe Biden, insisted he alone deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and supported ICE officers' use of violence against protesters.

Then, in a stunning twist, Trump told generals their main focus should not be on fighting foreign enemies, but on the "enemy within," meaning fighting urban crime in cities like Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland and Memphis - all cities with Democratic mayors. In fact, Trump said, "I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military."

Use American cities as training grounds for the military? Putin would be proud. At that point, Trump's lucky every general didn't stand up and walk out of the room. But we know what they were thinking: "What an idiot! We didn't join the military to fight our fellow Americans. And we know, even if he doesn't, that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 expressly bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law."

In truth, as disgusting as it was, what happened at Quantico was classic Trump. The assembled generals and admirals should have expected no less. After all, this is "President Bone-Spurs," the same man who went to the Pentagon on July 20, 2017 and told the military's top commanders: "I wouldn't go to war with you people. You're a bunch of dopes and babies."

Unlike most Americans when speaking about the military, in Donald Trump's vocabulary there are five words missing: "Thank you for your service."

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