Demolition workers have finished tearing down the White House’s entire East Wing to make way for a giant new $300 million ballroom.
When the former property magnate unveiled his plans in July, Trump said that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building” and that it would be “near it but not touching it.” But after work started this week, Trump said on October 22nd that he had decided after consulting architects that “really knocking it down” was preferable to a partial demolition.
Many U.S. presidents have carried out upgrades to the White House but Trump’s ballroom is the biggest in more than a century. The complete destruction of part of one of the world’s most famous landmarks is a far more extensive demolition than previously announced by Trump—and happened virtually without warning.
As criticism mounted about the demolition, the White House Historical Association—an independent group that helps preserve the history of the presidential home—said it had been helping with preservation work. The association had carried out a “comprehensive digital scanning project and photography to create a historic record,” it said in an email to members. It added that “historic artifacts have been preserved and stored.”
Trump insists the 1,000-seat ballroom is essential because state dinners and other large events currently have to be held in tents that are temporarily erected on the White House lawn. He also said that the new ballroom would cost $300 million, raising the cost from the $250 million quoted by the White House days before, and the $200 million it cited in July.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told an AFP reporter in a briefing that $300 million was now the definitive number but said that “it’s not going to cost the taxpayers a dime.” Trump says the ballroom will be funded entirely by private donors and by himself. The White House released a list of the donors. They include U.S. tech titans Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Palantir, as well as defense giant Lockheed Martin.
