This week in the saga

Tuesday afternoon there are two views of the ballroom rising where the east wing stood, and it is on budget and ahead of schedule. Friday evening the demand hardens twice within half an hour: first that the refusal is simple, they want to continue to cheat, and then that these are horrible, disingenuous cheaters, and that if Congress will not pass it he has found a legal argument nobody has articulated yet. Saturday morning a television host who asked for dinner is described at length — nervous, no confidence, a vodka tonic within seconds of entering the office. And Sunday the board he chairs is given its horizon: unlimited potential, and a pledge of five billion.