Trump originally said that the new construction would only touch the East Wing, but videos over the past two days showed the structure being almost entirely demolished. At a Wednesday press conference alongside NATO head Mark Rutte, Trump explained that architects’ estimations had changed over time, and it had now been ruled that the whole East Wing had to be torn down.
“Certain areas are being left. We determined that, after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world, we determined that really knocking it down, trying to use a little section, you know, the East Wing was not much. … It was not much left from the original,” Trump said, pointing out that much had changed with the structure over the past 100 years.
He then bragged that the planned ballroom will be one of the greatest ballrooms on Earth.
“It’s about $300 million; it’s set to do many, many things, including meetings of foreign leaders, including the honoring of foreign leaders,” Trump said, holding up pictures of the plans of the new structure.
“It goes beautifully with the White House. I mean, the mix is beautiful. So over the years, many presidents have made changes. This obviously would be the biggest change, but this was something they’ve wanted for at least 150 years,” he added.
He complained that large events with foreign leaders previously had to be hosted by a tent on the White House lawn.
The president further explained that the East Wing had to be torn down because otherwise, the ballroom would touch the White House main building, which he didn’t want.
“We are using little sections of footings and various other things, but that’s sort of irrelevant. In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” he said of the East Wing. “The way it was shown, it looked like we were touching the White House. We don’t touch the White House.”
The updated design would have a bridge from the White House to the ballroom, with a lobby and a main room.
“The East Wing is being modernized from its 1902 and 1942 constructions to support the project and the future home of the East Wing. The scope and size of the project has always been subject to vary as the process developed,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner.
A White House official told Reuters that plans for the ballroom haven’t been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission but will be soon.
When asked by a reporter for a response to claims that his administration hasn’t been transparent with the ballroom plans, Trump was taken aback.
“I haven’t been transparent? Really? I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen. Third-rate reporters didn’t see it because they didn’t look. You’re a third-rate reporter. Always have been,” he said.
The White House has undergone extensive changes since its reconstruction after it was burned by British forces in 1814. The modern East Wing was only constructed in 1942. It was originally intended to cover an underground bunker meant to protect the president from enemy attacks during World War II.
EAST WING DEMOLITION CONTINUES LONG LINE OF WHITE HOUSE RENOVATIONS
The most extensive redesign to the main White House building occurred in 1948 under President Harry Truman. The president gutted the entire 150-year-old building, keeping only its exterior walls. The residence was given a new, 22-foot-deep foundation, steel frame walls, and concrete floors. It gained two sub-basements and expanded from 48 rooms to 54.
Trump’s ballroom construction will be the first significant new construction since then.
Naomi Lim contributed to this story.
