In June 2014, it seemed the entire city was upset when a certain New York real estate developer added five 20-foot-tall serifed letters spelling his name to the 16th floor of his eponymous tower facing the Chicago River.

That moment and the ensuing kerfuffle seem quite quaint now.

That unexpected design move — which defaced what is arguably the most architecturally distinguished building that bears Donald Trump’s name — was just a preface to what he’s doing at a far larger scale across Washington, D.C., and beyond.

There’s a weekly, sometimes daily, announcement of new design projects by the real estate president, and one never knows the full extent or budget for each project. But there’s seldom any necessity for them, and each reflects Trump’s never-ceasing capacity for self-regard.

The one constant is the absolute disregard for expertise that’s apparent in virtually every single example. There are many checks and balances that normally provide oversight of any architectural project that affects our public spaces. But Trump is now living the real estate developer’s fantasy — with seemingly no laws, no permits, no reviews, no budget and no outside expertise required. He’s genuinely making it up as he goes along.

And the cost can’t just be measured in dollars and cents. It’s part of a fundamental dismantling of process to satisfy one individual’s whims. And when there have been cursory reviews of some projects, they’ve been by panels that he’s stacked with grossly unqualified people, including members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.

Trump’s “expertise” in building and design is highly overrated, as might be expected when you realize how few of the buildings that bear his name have any enduring architectural........

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