Ross Douthat will concede that the new ballroom may be a bit glitzy and that Trump has shown his customary insensitivity to public taste. In his eyes, however, the ballroom was needed, so the ends justify the means. In fact, Douthat analogizes Trump’s willingness to ignore legal procedures to Ezra Klein’s concept of “abundance.” Is that fair?
This is the sort of argument that undoubtedly drove Klein crazy during the DOGE era (was it really that long ago?) “Abundance” is not about completely disregarding procedures and making random “improvements” at the whim of a man whose tastes run to Saudi chic. It is about methodically changing the process to avoid sclerosis and following it faithfully thereafter.