Donald Trump's sudden demolition of the White House's East Wing may have been ugly, but it sure is a metaphor. It's hard to pinpoint the most stomach-turning aspect of the razing, though Americans, who disapprove of it by 53% to 23% according to a new YouGov America poll, have multiple aspects to choose from.

There's the visual of a major piece of the symbol of American democracy turned to rubble.

There's the replacement of splendid American history with a wholly unnecessary gaudy ballroom for the rich and famous, a vanity project that a clinically narcissistic president wants to have serve as a personal monument to him, in the fashion of a Roman emperor.

There's the waste of $300 million on that ballroom provided by corporate titans purchasing favors from the president when millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, many of them without the means to provide food and health care for their families.

"You may think it's gross," the president of the United States seems to be saying to Americans, middle finger extended, "but that's who I am."

The middle finger is by far Donald Trump's favorite. He loves using it, and tens of millions of our fellow citizens love it when he does. When he revels in expressing contempt for civilized conduct, they revel in his reveling.

Earlier this month, when some 7 million Americans rallied to protest the carving away of democratic norms, Trump mocked the "No Kings" rallies by posting an AI-generated video of himself wearing a crown in a fighter jet labeled "King Trump," dropping what certainly appeared to be excrement on the protesters. He figured that his celebration of his unchecked move toward authoritarianism would thrill his base. He wasn't wrong. As if to punctuate the point, he went on to post a second image of himself with Vice President J.D. Vance wearing crowns. "Have a good night, everyone," it said.

"We have never seen a wrecking ball taken to an entire wing," says historian Kate Andersen Brower, author of a history of the White House. Trouble is, of course, that it isn't just the physical structure of the White House that is getting the wrecking ball treatment. Every day brings with it fresh examples of more profound forms of injury being wreaked.

Thus, for example, last week Trump demanded that the Justice Department, to which he regularly issues orders, transfer $230 million — you read that right — in American taxpayer dollars to his personal account to "compensate" him for the "damages" he sustained in defending himself against a series of criminal indictments handed down against him by grand juries across the country. One set of indictments resulted in his conviction on 34 separate felony counts by a New York jury. Two other sets of indictments, for violating the Espionage Act, obstructing justice and defrauding the United States, were only dropped because he was elected president before he was brought to trial.

There isn't a great deal of suspense about whether American taxpayers are going to be compelled to hand over $230 million of their hard-earned money to Trump, with Attorney General Pam ("Tell me how high to jump") Bondi dutifully following Trump's orders. The cash, as Border Czar Tom Homan might say, is in the bag.

Meanwhile, we are only in month 10 of The Great Totalitarian Tour. Bondi has already complied with Trump's express directive that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, who refused Trump's demand that he shut down an FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on his behalf, and against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully sued Trump for fraud. Trump has called on her to bring criminal charges against U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, who, as a congressman, was House manager of Trump's first impeachment, and Jack Smith, who, as special counsel, led the criminal investigation into Trump that resulted in two sets of federal indictments against him. Trump will almost certainly get what he has ordered up.

The demolition of buildings, even the White House, we can recover from. What's less certain is that we can truly recover from the bulldozing that has been administered to the rule of law, and to respect for the civic institutions that, through good times and bad, had long made this country something to be proud of.

Jeff Robbins' latest book, "Notes From the Brink: A Collection of Columns about Policy at Home and Abroad," is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Google Play. Robbins, a former assistant United States attorney and United States delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, was chief counsel for the minority of the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. An attorney specializing in the First Amendment, he is a longtime columnist for the Boston Herald, writing on politics, national security, human rights and the Mideast.

Photo credit: Markus Spiske at Unsplash