Jobs for Americans, Ballrooms for Billionaires
A week of contradictions: ‘America First’ slogans, foreign bailouts, and the East Wing reduced to rubble.
The convicted felon’s administration just rolled out Project Firewall, an H-1B enforcement initiative that’s supposedly all about making sure “American jobs go to American workers.” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer promises investigations, penalties, and even debarment for employers who abuse the system. The press release brims with phrases like “safeguard the rights, wages, and job opportunities of highly skilled American workers” and emphasizes coordination with DOJ and the EEOC. Sounds serious—if you believe the press release.
On social media, the rollout is… striking. The photos are AI-style illustrations of white families. No diversity in sight. The captions scream things like “RESTORE THE AMERICAN DREAM!” and “AMERICANS FIRST!” while quietly implying that this Dream might only apply to one very narrow slice of Americans. The images feel like a museum exhibit of 1950s suburbia—cheery, sanitized, and completely out of touch. Honestly, if this is what “protecting American workers” looks like, someone should check the time machine.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the contradictions pile up. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion “economic stabilization” agreement with Argentina—and added that the U.S. is looking into “another $20 billion lifeline, funded by private banks and sovereign wealth funds.” The convicted felon also said the U.S. will buy beef from Argentina, which could lower grocery prices—but also undercuts American cattle farmers. Groceries may be “down,” the administration claims—but that box of cereal in your cart is still nearly $10. Energy prices might have softened slightly, if you squint—but for most Americans, that’s small consolation.
So while the Department of Labor is claiming it’s cracking down on H-1B abuse to protect “highly skilled Americans,” the administration is simultaneously sending tens of billions overseas and giving a boost to a foreign beef market. Bold slogans, AI-drawn white families, historic-looking press releases—it all looks impressive. But if the real goal is “Americans First,” someone forgot to tell the policies.
Project Firewall is about as serious as a tweet. It’s a clever mix of imagery, slogans, and bureaucratic authority, designed to suggest action. In reality, American workers are being undercut by trade decisions, underrepresented in the messaging, and reminded that the “American Dream” only applies if you fit the picture. And let’s be honest: the juxtaposition is almost comical if it weren’t so costly.
Americans first? Only if you match the narrative. Otherwise, apparently, everyone else is fair game. Meanwhile, the administration keeps tweeting about bold initiatives, while millions of Americans are left wondering why the “first” in “Americans First” feels more like a footnote than a policy.
Meanwhile at the White House…
While the administration insists it’s “putting Americans first,” crews are busy bulldozing the East Wing to make way for a $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Yes, really—a ballroom. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that it’s the president’s main priority. Not rebuilding the government, not tackling the price of groceries or housing—a ballroom.
The demolition was reportedly “for structural reasons,” though the structure in question was the East Wing itself. Treasury staff with a front-row view have even been told not to share photos of the wreckage.
The donor list reads like an S&P 500 index: Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Palantir—the same corporate powerhouses already writing the checks and the rules. So much for “America First.”
Because if the week’s theme wasn’t already clear enough, it is now: you can’t claim to be defending the American Dream while literally tearing down part of the White House to build yourself a dance floor. If symbolism still means anything, the East Wing’s rubble might be the truest metaphor of this presidency yet.