Of all the controversial decisions Donald Trump has made during his second term as president, bulldozing the East Wing of the White House is one of his least popular moves.
Trump, 79, had the historic section of the people’s house in Washington, D.C., torn down in October without informing the public of the demolition beforehand, shocking preservationists.
Many were left wondering how his wife, Melania, truly felt about the sweeping renovations — a question he finally tackled head-on in a tense, headline-making interview.
Many Americans have taken issue with an extravagant event space being erected in the nation’s capital as the cost of living across the country continues to skyrocket under Trump.
A YouGov/Economist poll compiled between October 24 and 27 found that 61 percent of adults in the U.S. disapprove of Trump razing the East Wing for a ballroom. Only 25 percent approved.
During a Nov. 10 interview in his Oval Office with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, he described the East Wing as “a beautiful little, tiny structure that was built many years ago, that was renovated and expanded and dispanded and columns ripped out.”
He said, “It was a poor, sad sight, and I could’ve built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been – we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world. By the way, zero money was spent by the government. Zero.”
Trump claimed he’s built a lot of ballrooms, though “This will be one of the greatest ballrooms in the world.”
Ingraham, 62, then brought up reports that first lady Melania Trump, 55, was privately upset over her office in the East Wing being knocked down were true.
“Is the true?” she asked, to which Trump replied, “She loved her little, tiny office, but you know what? She’s very smart. In about one day, she– if you would ask her now, she says it’s great.”
The East Wing supposedly had to go so Trump could construct his alleged privately funded, 90,000-square-foot White House State Ballroom for an estimated cost of $250 million to $300 million. The East Wing of the White House was built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and expanded in 1942 under the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
In 1977, Rosalynn Carter, the wife of President Jimmy Carter, was the first first lady to establish dedicated office space in the East Wing for her and her formal staff.
After stumbling over his words, the president continued, “If you would ask her now, she says it’s great. The East Wing sounds good, right? It sounds good. But the East Wing, that building, was renovated 20 times.”
Commenters online were fired up to weigh in on Trump’s revealing remarks that the obliteration of the East Wing was not necessary to complete the expensive dance hall on the executive mansion complex.
“Hopefully, all this destruction unleashes the ghosts of presidents past and makes Trump’s sleep all nightmares,” one Yahoo reader expressed in response to the chief executive’s admission that the East Wing did not have to be removed.
Another critic of the longtime real estate magnate posted, “Just rubbing it in our faces that he didn’t have to vandalize our house.” Someone else offered, “I think he is lying about the government not paying anything for it.”
“He also said that was his intention: not to touch the White House. But he lied. Is anyone surprised?” read on comment, referring to Trump previously insisting the ballroom would not interfere with the preexisting White House structures, including the East Wing.
While initially promoting the ballroom plan during a press conference in July, Trump said, “It will be near it but not touching it. It pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. It’s my favorite place. I love it.”
The creation of the White House State Ballroom is headed by Clark Construction and is expected to be completed by the end of Trump’s term in January 2029. McCrery Architects was selected as the lead architect for the project.
