Former President Trump Oversaw East Wing Renovation During Administration

In a dramatic development that has shocked many Americans, the entire East Wing of the White House has been demolished as part of President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to construct a new ballroom at the historic site.

Construction crews completed the teardown of both the East Wing and the East Colonnade on October 23, 2025, removing structures that had stood for more than a century. The demolition came despite Trump’s earlier promises in July 2025 that his ballroom project would not “interfere with the current building.”

On October 22, Trump confirmed the demolition to reporters during an Oval Office meeting. “In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” the president said while displaying renderings of the planned ballroom. The project’s estimated cost has risen from an initially announced $200 million to $300 million, according to Trump, who stated the funds would come from himself and a group of private donors.

Photographs from reputable news sources, including The Associated Press, have documented the demolition process. By October 21, most of the building was gone, with only narrow portions of the north and western façades remaining. One particularly striking image, published by legal reporter Chris Geidner on his website Law Dork, showed the extensive destruction when viewed from the Treasury Department building.

The Washington Post first reported on the East Wing’s demolition on October 20, with several other major news outlets subsequently confirming that the project had begun. Initially, it remained unclear how much of the existing structure would be removed, but by week’s end, the entire East Wing had been razed.

The demolition has sparked significant criticism. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow shared news of the teardown on social media with the caption “omg!” Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election, wrote on Bluesky: “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”

The East Wing has played an important role in White House history since its construction in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. The structure was significantly expanded in 1942 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to cover the bunker he used during World War II, which later became the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.

In recent decades, the East Wing housed the offices of the first lady, her staff, and the White House social secretary. It also served as the visitors’ entrance for public tours of the presidential residence. The White House’s movie theater was located inside the now-demolished East Colonnade.

The new ballroom that Trump plans to build will reportedly be nearly twice the size of the White House itself, according to Associated Press reports. This dramatic alteration to one of America’s most iconic buildings raises significant questions about the preservation of historic structures and the limits of presidential authority over national landmarks.

The demolition represents one of the most substantial physical changes to the White House complex in decades. While presidents have frequently made modifications to the interior of the White House to suit their personal tastes or functional needs, the complete removal of an entire wing is unprecedented in modern history.

As construction proceeds, the controversy is likely to continue, with preservationists, historians, and political observers debating whether such dramatic alterations to the “People’s House” should be permitted, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office.