Amid growing criticism of President Trump’s reconstruction plan, workers continued to demolish and remove the east wing of the White House to make way for a new banquet hall.
Demolition of the portion of the White House that houses the first lady’s office and staff offices began Monday and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks to make room for the president’s planned White House banquet hall.
On July 31, President Trump announced plans for a 90,000-square-foot addition, saying it would “be built on the east side and be beautiful” but would not “interfere with the current building.”
Photos and videos of the demolition went viral, and the National Trust for Historic Places called on the Trump administration to pause work to review the demolition. President Trump told reporters on Oct. 22 that in order to properly complete the project, “we need to demolish the existing structure.”
Demolition of White House East Wing draws political praise and outrage
While U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson hails the East Building’s demolition as a historic renovation, critics have slammed the plan.
Once videos and images of the demolition were seen, criticism of the project began. “President Trump’s desecration of the White House is an insult to the American people and a betrayal of our duty to protect our history and heritage,” U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said in a statement Wednesday.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton posted an image of the demolition to X on October 21, writing, “This isn’t his home. It’s your home. And he’s destroying it.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has accused President Trump of “bringing a wrecking ball” to democracy, posted on X on October 20 that President Trump is “tearing up the White House the same way he’s tearing up the Constitution.” The next day, he posted, “Donald Trump doesn’t want you to see this photo. He’s literally destroying the White House.”
In response, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) told CNN’s Manu Raju on Oct. 22, “All of a sudden I’m hearing from my liberal friends that they’re very concerned about our history. “These are the same people who took down every statue they could get their hands on — Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt. They didn’t care about history at all. Now they all do.” All of a sudden, they’re like, oh, the East Wing facade is iconic. …Oh, please take a break. ”
According to a YouGov survey of 2,038 American adults conducted on October 21, more than half of Americans (53%) strongly or somewhat oppose demolishing the East Tower, while 24% support it (24% are undecided).
See photos of the White House bombing
President Trump told reporters on October 22 that the decision to demolish the entire building came after “a tremendous amount of research with some of the best architects in the world.”
The president also said that the cost of the ballroom project was originally estimated at $200 million, but has now increased to $300 million.
Has the White House ever been renovated?
The White House was completed in 1817, before then-President James Monroe moved in, and has undergone numerous renovation projects.
The original East Wing, then known as East Terrace, was built in 1902 during President Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, according to the New York Times.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt oversaw the construction of the entire East Wing in 1942, according to the White House Historical Society. According to History.com, the building covered a bunker during World War II to protect the president and his staff from enemy attack.
Shortly thereafter, the Harry S. Truman Renovation began in 1948 and was completed in 1952, “to completely demolish the White House and rebuild it from the inside out,” according to White House archives.
Contributors: Natalie Neysa Alund and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, Reuters.
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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