President Donald Trump suggested in a new interview that the White House East Wing, which was demolished to make way for a ballroom, was in poor shape and needed to be replaced.
“The East Wing was a beautiful, little, tiny structure that was built many years ago that was renovated, and expanded, and disbanded, and columns ripped out—and it had nothing to do with the original building,” the president said.
Trump added that the wing “was a poor, sad sight, and I could have built the ballroom around it, but it would not have been … we’re building one of the greatest ballrooms in the world.”
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will dwarf the main White House itself, at nearly double its size, and accommodate 999 people.
The president’s comments came in response to Ingraham’s question about former First Lady Michelle Obama’s criticism of Trump’s decision to remove the East Wing and construct a ballroom.
“The East Wing, that building, was renovated 20 times, including adding a floor to the top, which was terrible,” he said in the interview.
“It looked like hell.”
“It had nothing to do with the original building,” Trump, a longtime New York-based real estate developer, told the outlet.
“And I didn’t want to sacrifice a great ballroom for an OK ballroom by leaving it right smack in the middle.”
Aside from the ballroom construction, Trump has heavily redone the Oval Office by adding numerous portraits, busts, and gold-toned decorations.
He converted the Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio, installed flagpoles on the north and south lawns, and decorated an exterior wall with portraits of presidents. Trump also said he renovated the bathroom in the famous Lincoln Bedroom in the private living quarters.
Presidents have added to the White House since construction began in 1792 for a host of reasons, and Trump aides say his decision to build a ballroom follows that long tradition.
Construction of the East Wing began in 1942 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s tenure to accommodate the growing number of offices and staff, reflecting the expansion of the federal government during World War II.
It noted that the East Wing’s construction was, at the time, considered “highly controversial” due to the war.
“Congressional Republicans labeled the expenditure as wasteful, with some accusing Roosevelt of using the project to bolster his presidency’s image. The secretive nature of the construction, tied to military purposes, further fueled suspicions,” the association said.
However, over time, the East Wing became used for the first lady’s staff and for social functions.