There were a couple of reasons I felt particularly proud to be an Aussie the past couple of days.

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There was the triumph in Vancouver. Two electrifying goals against Turkiye. One from Nestory Irankunda, born a Burundian refugee who grew up Australian. The other from Newcastle-born Connor Metcalfe.

Multiculturalism at work on the world stage. Who wouldn't be proud of who we are?

And who wouldn't be proud of who we're not? That realisation dawned watching the vulgarity play out on the White House lawn on Donald Trump's birthday. Thank heaven I'm not American I kept thinking.

I didn't think the White House could be dragged much lower.

I'd seen Trump use it to spruik Teslas with his one time friend Elon Musk. All it needed to become a cheap car lot was one of those inflatable tube men. Better Call Saul comes to DC.

Then the rose garden was concreted over, converted into a Mar-a-Lago style patio, complete with gold signage. The once dignified Oval Office is drowning in gilt.

The East Wing was bulldozed, to make way for a vast ballroom with a bunker underneath and a drone port on top. Architects have slammed the plans which include stairs which lead to nowhere and windows whose views are blocked by neo-classical pillars. Some say it exudes a dictator for life vibe.

And then came The Claw, an ugly structure plonked on the White House south lawn to stage a cage fight tournament - all to mark the president's 80th birthday. A tasteless paean to a man whose boorishness knows no bounds.

We're a sports mad nation, at times a little rough around the edges. But I doubt we'd sanction the cheapening of our national icons with such commercial crassness. There was an attempt eight years ago and the backlash was furious.

Racing NSW and the then Coalition state government lit the Opera House........

© The Examiner