Copyright The Daily Beast
President Donald Trump has begun demolishing the traditional work space of First Lady Melania Trump and her staff to make way for his “big, beautiful” ballroom. Two months after unveiling plans to build the 90,000-square foot ballroom, construction crews have begun tearing down the covered entrance of the East Wing, with cranes and backhoes attacking window frames and knocking away parts of the exterior cladding. The new ballroom is being built in the East Wing, which has long housed the offices for the first lady, whose staff have been temporarily relocated to other parts of the White House complex. The Daily Beast has reached out for confirmation as to where they are currently working from. It is internally connected through the East Colonnade to the Executive Residence, where presidents and their families have traditionally lived. The former upper floor of White House calligraphy office now has a massive hole, while trees and shrubs have also been cleared from the White House South Lawn to make way for construction. Trump acknowledged the project at an event in the East Room on Monday afternoon honoring the Louisiana State University baseball teams, telling his guests: “right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on.” He later posted on Truth Social declaring that “ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom.” “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!” he wrote. “For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!” However, critics have noted that the ballroom, which is expected to cost at least $250 million, is being built at a time when many Americans are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures - something that Trump promised to fix. Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom likened Trump to controversial French monarch Marie Antoinette for continuing his ballroom construction amid the government shutdown. The California governor’s press office posted an edited image of Trump’s face overlayed on a fictitious portrait of France’s last queen, with the caption, “TRUMP ‘MARIE ANTOINETTE’ SAYS, ‘NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!’” On Monday, New Jersey Senator Andy Kim wrote: “We didn’t need a billionaire-funded ballroom to celebrate America. Disgusting what Trump is doing.” But White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said that “construction has always been a part of the evolution of the White House.” “Losers who are quick to criticize need to stop their pearl clutching and understand the building needs to be modernized. Otherwise you’re just living in the past,” he added. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also posted about the renovation, writing: “And President Trump is not costing the taxpayers a dime!” The ballroom is merely the latest sign of the president remodeling the White House in his image. Since returning to power in January, Trump has also redecorated the Oval Office with gold accents and ornate frames; removed portraits of his predecessors and replaced them with his own; installed two giant flagpoles on the north and south lawn; and paved over the grass in the Rose Garden to create a white patio filled with tacky Mar-a-Lago chairs and tables. His personal iPad playlist - featuring tracks such as Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA” and Andrea Borcelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” - is often heard booming through the Rose Garden speakers. Trump says the new ballroom will more than triple the capacity of the East Room, which is the largest existing event space in the White House and can only hold a maximum of 200 people. He insists that the entire project will be privately funded by donors, some of whom attended a dinner at the White House last week. Among the guests were corporate leaders from tech giants Amazon, Apple, Google; representatives from defense firm Lockheed Martin; and crypto-billionaires the Winklevoss Twins. At the dinner, Trump bragged that he was told there were “zero zoning conditions” set for the project.
