WASHINGTON, D.C. – A major construction and demolition project at the White House is getting mixed reactions. The President announced awhile back they are building a new ballroom, but in the process, they razed the entire East Wing of the White House. Some DC visitors shared their thoughts about the changes to the nation’s most famous building.
For the past few days, you can hear the demolition of the White House’s East Wing underway, making space for President Donald Trump’s 90-thousand square foot ballroom.
“You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back,” said Trump while hosting alunch at the White House. “You hear that sound? Oh, that’s music to my ears. I love that sound.”
The East Wing has been used for the First Lady’s office and staff and serves as the visitor’s entrance for the public for special events, but now, it’s completely gone. It goes against the President’s previous statements about the project:
“It won’t interfere with the current building,” said the President a few months ago. “It will be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building which I’m the biggest fan of, it’s my favorite.”
The White House is defending the project. They said US presidents have renovated, expanded and modernized the White House to meet the needs of the present day.
“$300 million is the figure and again it’s not going to cost the taxpayers a dime,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump initially said it would cost 200-million to build this ballroom, but now, he’s saying it’s closer to 300-million. The White House said this will all be done through private donations, not with public money. They recently released a list of donors for the project. Some companies include Apple, Meta, Amazon and some private individuals.
They are urging people to “trust the process” but the demo and construction is getting mixed reaction.
“I think it’s really dumb,” said Kevin Wade, visiting DC from Texas. “I think it’s ridiculous. I think he articulated his plans dishonestly and saying it wasn’t going to touch the building itself and now obviously we have demoed part of the building. It can never go back to the way it was.”
“I guess as long as we’re not using taxpayer dollars, I’m okay with it,” said Donald, who is visiting DC from California.
“I think it’s a horrible thing,” said Alan Ross, who is visiting from Washington state. “It’s a historic building. I saw a depiction, an artist’s depiction to show the size of this ballroom that’s being built and I think it’s garbage.”
“I think it seems like an inept symbol of the crumbling of our democracy,” said Peggy Keene, who is visiting from Washington state.
The demolition is expected to be finished by this weekend.
