I’m used to being irritated by Trump. That’s to be expected when the worst president in American history almost daily challenges his own record for worst’ness. But there’s something about his destruction of the East Wing of the White House so a $350 million ballroom can take its place that has pushed my irritation to new heights of outrage.
Here’s why, in no particular order.
(1) The gigantic ballroom is an architectural travesty. It will be almost twice as large as the entire White House was when the East Wing was standing. This rendering shows how the ballroom will overpower the classic look of the White House. The ballroom is on the right. The White House is to the left of it. If you can notice it.
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(2) Trump lied when he assured Americans that the ballroom wouldn’t affect the current White House structure. Instead, the entire East Wing has been totally destroyed. Here’s satellite photos of before and after.
October 28, 2024 — East Wing shown on right side of White House
October 23, 2025 — East Wing is a pile of rubble
(3) Trump didn’t seek the approval of Congress for his destruction/construction scheme. Trump didn’t involve the public in any way. Trump didn’t form an architectural review committee. He just did what he always does: act like the king he considers himself to be, ignoring the fact that the White House belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.
(4) The American Institute of Architects, AIA, issued recommendations for the ballroom planning process. Naturally Trump ignored them.
- Establish a qualifications-based selection process to select the project’s architect
- Enact a rigorous historic preservation review
- Prioritize transparency and public accountability, in terms of funding and procurement
- Consider “proportionality” and “design harmony”
- Leverage collaboration and expertise
(5) The corporate and individual donors for the ballroom aren’t paying all that money out of the goodness of their hearts. They will expect, and receive, special treatment from the Trump administration. Disgusting.
(6) Photos of the destruction of the East Wing are a perfect metaphor for Trump’s modus operandi. Trash what made our country great and replace it with whatever his authoritarian whim favors — which almost always is much worse than what existed before.
(7) The ballroom is going to look like Trump’s horrible redesign of the Oval Office. Tacky, overuse of gold, completely inappropriate match for the tradition of the American presidency.
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