Trump ballroom's secret donors revealed — Dingus of the Week Podcast #45

<html><p>The Washington Post <a href="washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/10/15/s…; target="_blank">obtained an internal spreadsheet</a> tracking every major donation to the White House ballroom, and it shows $333 million from private donors across 67 donations. Nvidia, Apple, the Adelson family and Dish co-founder Charlie Ergen each committed $25 million, and Google chipped in $22 million from settlement money in Trump’s lawsuit against YouTube. One name missing from the list: Trump himself, who said the project is “paid for a hundred percent by me and some friends of mine.” </p><p>Meanwhile, about half the money came from companies or executives with federal contracts, and the donations are <a href="washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/10/15/s…; target="_blank">routed through a nonprofit</a> so no one has to disclose a thing.</p><p>On this episode of <strong>DINGUS OF THE WEEK,</strong> hosts <strong>LYZ LENZ</strong> and <strong>ZACHARY OREN SMITH</strong> parse through some excellent reporting and the insight it brought to a story you need to know about.</p><p><strong>DINGUS OF THE WEEK</strong> is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning.</p><h3><strong>SUPPORT THE SHOW by </strong><u><strong><a href="patreon.com/cw/LyzLenz"; target="_blank">subscribing on Patreon</a></strong></u><strong>.</strong></h3><p><strong>👑 $5/month</strong> - <u><a href="patreon.com/checkout/LyzLenz?rid=26928874"; target="_blank">Not a Dingus tier</a></u> (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive)</p><p><strong>👑👑 $10/month</strong> - <u><a href="patreon.com/checkout/LyzLenz?rid=26928880"; target="_blank">Definitely Not a Dingus tier</a></u> (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love)</p><p><strong>SEND US YOUR DINGUS.</strong> <u><a href="memo.fm/dingus"; target="_blank">Record a voice memo</a></u> and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to <u><a href="mailto:menyellatme@gmail.com" target="_blank">menyellatme@gmail.com</a></u>. </p><p><strong>FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="youtube.com/@DingusoftheWeek"; target="_blank">Youtube</a></p></li><li><p><a href="instagram.com/dingusoftheweek/"; target="_blank">Instagram</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>LYZ LENZ</strong> is the HBIC of MYAM Media. </p><p><strong>ZACHARY OREN SMITH</strong> <u><a href="instagram.com/zachosmith/#"; target="_blank">writes about politics</a></u> for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram (<a href="instagram.com/zacharyorensmith)" target="_blank">instagram.com/zacharyorensmith)</a> and TikTok (<a href="tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith)." target="_blank">tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith).</a></p><p><u><strong><a href="laurabenitezandtheheartache.com/index.html"; target="_blank">LAURA BENITEZ</a></strong></u><u><a href="laurabenitezandtheheartache.com/index.html"; target="_blank"> wrote the theme song.</a></u></p><p><strong>SHOW RUNDOWN:</strong></p><p>0:00 - Cold open </p><p>10:23 - Intro and support the show </p><p>13:02 - Dingus of the Week: the new press secretary, the wrong Portland ad, Shane Gillis </p><p>22:35 - The Washington Post ballroom donor list and the Trust for the National Mall </p><p>33:03 - Favors and donors: Herrera Velutini, Rocket, Ergen </p><p>36:24 - Nvidia’s statement and the Guilfoyle callback </p><p>40:02 - Anonymity, federal contracts, and who gets the attention </p><p>50:22 - Midroll: Kelly Clarkson vs. the Art of Play, Adam Rubin and children’s authors </p><p>01:04:29 - Joy: Lyz’s rock climbing, Zach’s Steve King text message story </p><p>01:12:26 - Outro</p></html>