President Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing to make way for a new ballroom this week became a full-on controversy for the White House.
Pictures of the East Wing suddenly reduced to a pile of debrisvisceral reactionto Trump critics, who saw it as a symbol of the ways the president has disgraced the White House. Historians and preservation groups have expressed their dismay, and journalists have asked administration officials questions about changes in the project’s scope and cost.
As is common in the Trump White House, the president’s team has tried to shape the narrative and dismiss criticism as fabricated or hypocritical, appealing to his base in the process.
The administration has dismissed attacks on the project as “manufactured outrage.” Donald Trump Jr. has hit backcriticismsfrom members of the clinton familypointing outScams during his tenure.
Trump’s team tooupdateA page to include a timeline of “major events” on the official White House website. The timeline largely includes significant construction projects, but Trump aides added then-President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky;discovery of cocaineIn the building during the Biden administration; and the 2023 Trans Day of Visibility celebrationa participantWas topless.
Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters Thursday, “We’ve been keeping you updated on this project. We’ve shown you the renderings. And if you look at the renderings, it’s clear that the East Wing is being modernized.”
“The President wants to do the right thing with the House of the people. And so, that’s exactly what he’s doing,” he said. “It’s going to be more stable, stronger, safer and more beautiful than ever before after it’s completed.”
Republican strategist Susan Del Persio, who does not support Trump, acknowledged that the story has not been good for the White House.
But in a week where the government is still closed and following massive “No Kings” protests, the White House may welcome another story.
“Yes, they got caught straight away, but they don’t care,” Del Percio said.
The White House didannouncedPlans are underway to break ground on a $200 million ballroom near the East Wing in late July. Trump had been seeking to create a similar space in the White House for years.
The project fully began this week when, to the surprise of many, construction crews began tearing down parts of the East Wing. Images of damaged metal and rock stunned observers who did not expect Trump’s project to see a portion of the nation’s most famous building collapse.
The original White House announcement stated that the ballroom would be “substantially separated from the main White House building” and Trump said the structure “will not interfere with the existing building.”
“It will be near it but not touching it,” Trump said on July 31. “And with full respect for the existing building, which I’m a big fan of.”
Leavitt faced several questions during a Thursday briefing with reporters about the demolition of the East Wing. Journalists pressed him on whether the President had the authority to demolish any building in the nation’s capital; Why the cost increased by $100 million; How much of Trump’s own money was being spent on the project; And why was the public not informed that the East Wing would be demolished.
“As with any construction project, there are changes over time as you assess what the project will look like, and we will keep you updated on all those changes,” Leavitt said.
He argued that the administration was transparent, pointing to the July 31 announcement that the project’s outline and models of the proposed ballroom were displayed in Trump’s Oval Office.
Levitt argued that the East Wing demolition did not require external approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, saying only new construction had to be reviewed by the panel before proceeding.
And he confirmed that the price had risen to $300 million, while also saying that the cost would be borne not by taxpayers, but by private donors. Critics have argued that the use of donations could open the door for private companies and individuals to use ballroom donations to curry favor with the President.
Throughout the week the White House shrugged off criticism from historians and Democrats about the scope of the project by pointing to previous renovations and alterations to the building.
White House officials pointed to the construction of the West Wing in 1902, the expansion of the West Wing and construction of the East Wing in 1933, the rehab of the building’s interior in 1948, the construction of a bowling alley in the basement in 1973, and the 2009 work that converted a tennis court into a basketball court.
Even some Democrats have acknowledged the utility of a large event venue at the White House. State dinners with foreign leaders are typically held under a temporary tent erected on the South Lawn, and larger indoor venues at the White House can hold only a few hundred people.
But the way Trump has proceeded to destroy the East Wing has touched a nerve.
“I don’t think there’s any question that the ballroom is probably needed,” said Michael LaRosa, who served as press secretary for then-first lady Jill Biden.sunrise on the hill,
He added, “But I very much understand the sadness around the East Wing, because I feel it myself.”
Contributed by Amy Parnes
