President Donald Trump has repeatedly said building his White House ballroom is a matter of national security—but his longtime biographer thinks that is merely a cover to get what he really wants.
There is a much bigger story here than simply “Iran and Oman are close to a deal on Hormuz.”
To start, the situation around Hormuz is evolving into a crucial test of U.S. leverage rather than merely a shipping issue. Had the Trump administration not initiated the conflict, this predicament could have been avoided. Additionally, we are witnessing the emergence of a new defense pact—a regional security network formed by three key U.S. allies—triggered by concern over reports of diminishing U.S. munitions. These developments highlight a significant shift from a U.S.-centric regional security framework toward a more autonomous, multi-polar Middle East. While this transition is still in progress, the incentives clearly favor such a transformation.
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In July, NVIDIA joined more than 200 companies and organizations in signing “Open Weights and American AI Leadership,” an open letter arguing that AI leadership will be measured not by any single frontier model but by whether an open ecosystem reaches every sector.
An appeals court ordered the Trump administration to halt construction on its White House ballroom, saying the project needs approval from Congress in order to continue.
