White House East Wing Demolished to Make Way for Trump’s $250 Million Ballroom
Construction crews have begun demolishing part of the East Wing of the White House to make way for former President Donald Trump’s planned $250 million ballroom a move that has sparked widespread criticism both online and in political circles.
The Washington Post first reported the demolition on Monday, publishing photos showing heavy construction equipment and parts of the East Wing exterior being torn down. Similar images appeared in the New York Post, confirming visible damage to sections of the historic building.
“I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much needed project underway with zero cost to the American taxpayer Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous patriots great American companies and yours truly.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian.
Earlier in the day, while honoring the NCAA champion Louisiana State University baseball team Trump spoke briefly about the ongoing construction. I didn’t know I’d be standing here right now because right on the other side you have a lot of construction going on he said. We’re building the most beautiful ballroom in the country.
Plans for the new ballroom one of the largest additions to the White House in more than a century were first revealed in July. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that the 90000 square foot structure would accommodate up to 650 guests and would be completed before the end of Trump’s second term in January 2029.
In the White House for 150 years they’ve wanted to have a ballroom. Trump said in July. I’m good at building things and we’re going to build quickly and on time. It’ll be beautiful top of the line.
Trump has insisted the new addition will not interfere with the existing structure. It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building which I’m the biggest fan of he said during an earlier event.
According to reports Trump recently hosted a private dinner for donors funding the project including representatives from Amazon Apple Meta Google Microsoft Palantir and Lockheed Martin. During the gathering he reportedly showed guests the early stages of construction and described the ballroom as a bulletproof state of the art venue capable of hosting 1000 people and even a future presidential inauguration.
However the renovation has faced strong backlash. Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh called it an utter desecration of the people’s house. If I ran for president in 2028 I’d run on taking a bulldozer to Trump’s ballroom Walsh said on X.
Democratic lawmaker Mark Takano also criticized the timing introducing a bill to block any nonessential White House construction during a government shutdown. Monday marked the 20th day of the ongoing shutdown.
Human rights lawyer Qasim Rashid echoed the outrage writing Wealth and income inequality is at record highs in America but glad we’re spending $250 million on a vanity project.
Sources:The Guardian
