“You know,” President Trump said. “If you ask her now, she’ll say it’s great.”
View debris from the East Wing removed outside the White House during demolition
Workers continued to remove the remains of the East Wing of the White House after President Trump announced plans to build a banquet hall in its place.
WASHINGTON – Melania Trump loved her “tiny little self” White House office.
But like the rest of the East Wing, it had to be removed to make way for the ballroom, her husband said.
“She loved her tiny little office and she loved it, but you know what?” President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “She’s very smart. After about a day, she’s like, ‘Wow, if you ask me now, she’s amazing.’
President Trump’s dismantling has come under heavy criticism from his wife’s predecessor as well. Former first ladies Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton ridiculed the construction plan. So is Chelsea Clinton.
President Melania Trump has not publicly commented on the demolition of the East Tower, which traditionally houses the first lady’s office space.
Her second-floor office overlooked the South Lawn and Jacqueline Kennedy Gardens. It was located near the White House’s social, calligraphy, and military offices. The White House addition, built in 1942, was demolished last month to make room for a banquet hall.
President Trump said the building was “a beautiful little building built many years ago, but it has been renovated, expanded, torn down, the columns pulled out” and it has become a “poor, sad place” that is not ideal for building a ballroom.
The first lady currently works on the first floor of the building, which includes the Vermeil Room, China Room, and White House Library. The area is currently off-limits.
Tours of the White House have previously included these rooms, but will take a different route when they reopen on December 2nd.
Contributor: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
