Trump TARGETS New HISTORICAL LANDMARK

The Wilbur J. Cohen building, originally built as the headquarters for Social Security, houses 'breathtaking' New Deal frescoes by renowned American artists Ben Shahn and Philip Guston. These frescoes depict scenes of insecurity before Social Security and a society working together after its implementation, serving as a 'Sistine Chapel of New Deal art.' They are painted directly into the plaster, making them an integral and immovable part of the building.

Alex Lawson describes the building's history and the art's significance, noting Ben Shahn and Philip Guston as 'enormous names' in American art history. He emphasizes that the frescoes 'can't move them. They're literally part of the building.'

The Trump White House allegedly sought to demolish the Cohen building, an action framed as part of a broader strategy to erase New Deal history and replace it with a 'cheap facsimile of Trumpist history.' This is seen as an attempt to dismantle the legacy of government programs that work for the people, such as Social Security.

Lawson states, 'the Trump White House wanted to demolish this building.' He connects this to a pattern: 'What Donald Trump is doing all across DC is he's demolishing American history and replacing it with this cheap facsimile of Trumpist history.'

Senator Joni Ernst specifically added a rider to an unrelated bill, mandating the 'disposal' of the Cohen building within two years of becoming vacant. This legislative action accelerates the building's potential sale or demolition, and Ernst's staff reportedly lacked awareness of the priceless art within the building.

Lawson explains that 'Senator Joanie Ernst specifically put this rider on a bill that by name said that... the Cohen building needs to be disposed of.' He adds that her staff 'had no idea that this priceless American art was in the building.'

Project 2025, developed by the Heritage Foundation, outlines a strategy for a 'Trumpist regime' to commit illegal acts, assuming that by the time lawsuits conclude, the actions (like demolition) will be irreversible. This approach aims to bypass legal checks and balances to achieve political goals.

Lawson states, 'If you read Project 2025, it's the same playbook. It says in Project 2025... do illegal things because by the time it winds its way through the courts, the courts will either agree with us or it's already faded comply, right? Like once you've torn down the East Wing, it's gone forever.'

Elon Musk, 'Doge' (referring to the Trump administration), and Antonio Gracias are implicated in the alleged theft of 500 million people's Social Security data. This occurred by plugging computers directly into the SSA database after a commissioner who resisted data access was replaced. This event is described as the 'largest data theft in the history of the world,' with potentially catastrophic implications.

Lawson details, 'They pushed her out and then they went down the list till they found a psy who was willing to say you can do it. They made that person commissioner. Then they plugged their computers into the social security database and they downloaded 500 million people's data.'

The conservative majority on the Supreme Court reportedly ruled that those involved 'can do what they want with the data,' which, while occurring after the alleged theft, is seen as enabling such actions. The full extent and ongoing threat of this data breach remain unknown.

Lawson notes, 'the Supreme Court basically did, as you noted, say actually they can do what they want with the data. So everything before that, which is when the theft actually happened, was not covered by that and everything after we don't know about.'