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During a recent interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, President Donald Trump addressed claims that First Lady Melania Trump was displeased with the demolition of the White House’s East Wing, a space traditionally associated with the First Lady’s office. This conversation came in light of a Wall Street Journal article suggesting Melania was not entirely happy about the controversial decision. The East Wing was razed three weeks prior to make room for what Trump calls his ‘big, beautiful ballroom,’ a project estimated to cost up to $300 million, funded through private donations.
In response to Ingraham’s inquiry, Trump stated that while Melania was fond of her “little tiny office,” she quickly came around to the idea. “She’s very smart, and if you ask her now, she thinks it’s great,” he explained. Trump insisted that while the East Wing might have seemed appealing, it had undergone numerous renovations, including a poorly executed addition. He described the structure as having been compromised with “common brick” and “tiny windows,” ultimately arguing that the new ballroom’s potential far outweighed retaining the old building.
Despite past Democratic First Ladies, such as Hillary Clinton and more recently Michelle Obama, voicing their disapproval of the East Wing’s removal, Melania Trump has remained publicly silent on the issue. Ingraham also touched on Michelle Obama’s criticism, where she suggested that tearing down the East Wing undermines the significance of the First Lady’s role. Obama emphasized the East Wing’s importance as the “heart of the work.” Trump dismissed this viewpoint, reiterating that the former structure was a “poor, sad sight” and not worth saving at the expense of a grand new ballroom.
He also said Obama ‘wouldn’t mind’ a new ballroom, calling attention to the tents she had erected on the South Lawn whenever she and President Barack Obama wanted to host a larger state dinner. The East Wing offices are expected to be moved back to the larger ballroom complex, once construction is completed. The East Wing’s demolition was met with controversy in part because the president bypassed any sort of historic preservation review.
Trump had appointed Staff Secretary Will Scharf to lead the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the government agency charged with providing planning guidance to Washington, D.C.and the surrounding area. Scharf argued that NCPC doesn’t monitor demolitions, just construction. In addition, the NCPC was closed due to the government shutdown.
That allowed the project to go forward without any oversight and without public meetings. The modern East Wing dated back to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who expanded the building in part to hide his World War II bunker and to give office space to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The original construction of an East Wing building happened during the administration of his distant cousin, President Teddy Roosevelt.