Image 01 Image 03

Eric Swalwell Proposes a Litmus Test for 2028 Democratic Presidential Candidates

Eric Swalwell Proposes a Litmus Test for 2028 Democratic Presidential Candidates

“Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE.”

President Donald Trump’s announcement at a Friday press conference that he intends to name the big, beautiful ballroom currently under construction at the White House the “Donald J. Trump Ballroom,” has sent Democrats, already angry over the project, into a rage. In fact, they’ve become so unhinged since construction began last Monday, pundits have coined a new term to describe it: Ballroom Derangement Syndrome.

In a Saturday post on X, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) called on all candidates seeking the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination to “pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE.”

It is, of course, the stupidest idea in the world, and Swalwell deserved all the incoming that came his way.

Perhaps that’s why he followed up with a less dramatic — but equally stupid — idea on Sunday. He wrote, “***Or, as @RubenGallego proposes, rename it the Barack Obama Ballroom. But a Trump monument to corruption will not stand.”

Swalwell, like all BDS sufferers, has lost touch with reality. The idea of naming this ballroom after Obama, a president from three administrations ago who has nothing to do with this project, and frankly, has lost much of his influence during the 2024 election, is simply preposterous.

And how is this project corrupt? Because the Democrats say it is?

The White House has never had a true grand ballroom, and this project fills a clear functional gap that will benefit every future president. And, unlike every previous renovation, this one places no burden on taxpayers. It is being funded entirely by Trump and a group of private donors.

Presidents have renovated and expanded the White House for generations. This initiative is well within that tradition, and portraying it as improper simply ignores history.

The White House announced this project in July, but it wasn’t until demolition began on the East Wing last week that the smoldering resentment turned into an uproar. Stacey Matthews reported on the furor — and the hypocrisy — here.

Swalwell has always been one of Trump’s most vocal critics and has a long record of playing fast and loose with the truth. His public pronouncements of Trump’s guilt during the days of the Russian collusion hoax were second only to those from then-Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

But Swalwell is best known for his romantic involvement with a Chinese woman in the early 2010s named Christine Fang, AKA “Fang Fang,” who turned out to be a spy for the CCP.

Axios broke the story in December 2020 that Swalwell had been targeted by what “U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015.” The report says she “took part in fundraising activity” for Swalwell’s 2014 campaign and even “helped place at least one intern in Swalwell’s office.”

He also has the dubious distinction of having farted on national television.


Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.

Comments

JackinSilverSpring | October 27, 2025 at 9:11 am

A man with Terminal TDS who has now gone bat excrement nuts.

    I have always worried about Fang Fang and PTSD. Imagine what slimy horrors she had to face in Swallwell’s boudoir? I hope she was made a “Hero of the People’s Republic” and was give a nice house on the ocean as a reward. God knows she deserves it.

Corruption involves some personal gain. What do they imagine Trump gains from this? His name is on grander structures around the world, so that’s not it.

Trump should name it the Harriet Tubman Ballroom. Or the Hiram Revels Ballroom.

    The Gentle Grizzly in reply to Crawford. | October 27, 2025 at 10:18 am

    I see what you did there. Two black Republicans.

    DaveGinOly in reply to Crawford. | October 27, 2025 at 5:03 pm

    They imagine that the POTUS (who is likely the most corruption-proof POTUS we’ve ever had, considering his private wealth) is doing political favors for the donors. Even if so, he’s not doing the favors for personal enrichment, because the donated money, and its fruits, aren’t going to Trump. Politicians do favors for people all the time to inflate their egos (the ballroom build hasn’t be called a vanity project for nothing). If this were illegal, they’d all be in prison.

Just call it Trump’s Ballroom. He obviously needs as much room for the giant pair of brass ones he’s carrying around.

Swalwell would probably be happy if the ballroom were named after CCP President Xi.

2smartforlibs | October 27, 2025 at 9:31 am

Not banging fang fang.

Because the White House needed a ballroom, honestly. Once it is built people will forget they were ever angry about its construction. In the meantime, we shall see which Democrat is willing to escalate first, by publicly demanding a wrecking ball on Day One of the next Democratic
administration.
The voters are guaranteed to respond well to that.

    The Gentle Grizzly in reply to Neo. | October 27, 2025 at 10:23 am

    So the Democrats are asking for the destruction of the new ballroom that is being built with private funding, and some of Trump’s own money. I would be willing to be the price of a good steak dinner that that demolition should’ve come to pass, will be funded by the US taxpayer.

    henrybowman in reply to Neo. | October 27, 2025 at 4:38 pm

    This looks like a quote from somewhere. Where?

irishgladiator63 | October 27, 2025 at 9:45 am

Trump should name it the Michelle Obama Ballroom. After all she was the one with balls during the Obama presidency.

Bang Bang with Fang Fang. An obvious honey trapper. Victor Davis Hanson relates a visit at his office he got from Christine. She came dressed to kill and switched dialects, all while trying to get him into potentially compromising situations.

Swalwell was my rep when I lived in California, and I attended many of his constituent meetings. For the most part, his constituents love him. I got into a shouting match with his staff in the parking lot after he lied during the meeting. He will keep getting re-elected unless he runs for state wide or national office. He’s too obvious to be much of a threat. This is what you get in a democracy. Our founders knew better, and we have forgotten their wisdom

A far better litmus test for public office would be: If you had an ongoing affair with a Chinese spy, you should be disqualified from holding public office…this guy Swaleell is a joke, a completely non serious person. Damaged beyond repair.

One of the more destructive aspects of being on the left is that they are always trying to top each other. That’s why Swalwell said to knock the ballroom down on day 1.

The next one will raise the stakes by saying knock it down AND indict Trump on day 1.

Then someone will say knock down the ballroom and execute Trump on day 1.

And so on. That’s just the way they are.

Looking forward to the first UFC event being hosted here.

Michael Gilson | October 27, 2025 at 10:39 am

But this gives me an idea, in honor of his service we could officially name one of the portopotties after Swalwell. And his fart.

destroycommunism | October 27, 2025 at 10:58 am

fang fang give long time bang bang loving

Rep. Swalwell is a lot of things, but all can be summarized in a single word — he is an appetite. He wants what he wants. He has no fixed ethics or vision. He is expedient, devious, and dishonest. He has the morals of a tomcat.

He is an appetite. Such men are both weak and dangerous.

“Even though the ballroom is a gorgeous addition and will host prestigious dignitaries and world class performers for unparalleled events, we hate Trump so rip it out and go back to sitting people in a tent on muddy grass, next to the Porto-potties.”

A good summary from the article above by Marti Withani.

The tent should be named after Michelle Obama.

This is why I hate politicians like Salwell. They have no respect for a dollar. To destroy something beautiful that was built for EVERY president to use is such a waste!!

    DaveGinOly in reply to TYH. | October 27, 2025 at 5:08 pm

    They are all destruction, with not even an idea of what to build in place of those things destroyed that will be better, more beautiful, or more useful. If they tear down the ballroom, what will the build in its place? Nothing as grand, nothing as useful, nothing as beautiful, and certainly nothing less expensive to the taxpayer, if they build anything at all.

We are witness to a political party self destructing. As Democrats and their supporters continue making insane statements about the Ballroom and other matters, they will lose support among independents, as well as their base. Not only Democrats, alleged Republicans too, such as Tara Setmayer. Today ZeroHedge reports she compares the new Ballroom to the attack on the Pentagon building in 2001. She posted on X:

“It’s feels almost the same as when I saw the Pentagon damage on 9/11.”

“This isn’t about messaging. This is how I feel and I won’t apologize for it.”

Note: 184 people died in the Pentagon building attack.

MSNBC compares images of the construction of the White House Ballroom to “Terrorism” and “War.”

Trump’s opposition has now gone full insane. They confuse their emotions with reality. “I feel I am Napoleon therefore I am.”

WSJ reports that Trump offered Obama that he would build a ballroom for the White House in 2010. Even WaPo admits it is a good idea to have one. Swallow-well needs to go back to Fang Fang.

The Ballroom has been funded. Why do funders contribute? Because they are buying favor with the Trump admin.

    Nonsense. The only person worth getting favor with is Trump and 250M isn’t going to buy favor with him. Trump isn’t Biden or Clinton or even Obama in this regard.

    henrybowman in reply to Thane_Eichenauer. | October 27, 2025 at 4:41 pm

    Or maybe because they have FU money to spend on enraging Democrats.

    That is pure speculation. It’s plausible, but there’s not a shred of evidence for it.

    In any event, “buying favor” is not corrupt. There’s no law against it, and it’s entirely legitimate. Corruption is not buying favor but buying favors, and there’s certainly no evidence of that.

    What favors did Democrats get from Big Insurance when they subsidize them to the tune of tens of billions of dollars per year? or when they handed out hundreds of billions in COVID funds to their corporate masters?

You would think that Swalwell would be delighted that the money is being diverted into something as benign as a ballroom instead of going into Republican political donations to fight Democrats. That, however, would require logic. I think that it is time to give Swalwell a new nickname – Snickers ( with apologies to Mars, Inc). Every time he gets on another tear, he elicits loud and thunderous snickers.

Really should name the ballroom for Melania. I’ll wager she complained about events held on the lawn. Those stilettos are no match for wet turf. Likely why the rose garden was paved.

    DaveGinOly in reply to bev. | October 27, 2025 at 5:18 pm

    I keep seeing reference to grass and mud with regard to White House events held in a large tent on the lawn. From Google AI:

    “Yes, White House tent events have floors, as they are set up with flooring and other decor to create a proper event space, especially for larger gatherings that exceed the capacity of indoor rooms like the East Room. These temporary floors are installed to make the event look like a formal ballroom, protecting guests’ shoes and ensuring the surface isn’t slippery from the grass or potential wetness.”

    This only make sense.

I’ve got a litmus test for every 2028 Democrat Presidential Primary candidate. Pledge not to sleep with a Chinese Spy.

And here I thought it would be all about banging a communist spy

“Or, as @RubenGallego proposes, rename it the Barack Obama Ballroom.”

Grok, on what page of the Democrat playbook does “stealing credit for Republican accomplishments” appear?

Wow, The foreword?

I predicted days ago the first chance the Marxists would have to destroy the Big Beautiful Ball Room they will.

His test is surprising! I would have thought it would be to (1) sleep with a spy and (2) then, grow some facial hair in the hopes no one would recognize him when he seeks publicity, trying to stay “relevant”.”