President Donald Trump spoke out after a report claimed that his wife, Melania Trump, had privately expressed concern over the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom.
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In an interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle on Monday, November 10, host Laura Ingraham asked Trump about the accuracy of the report published by The Wall Street Journal. The president dismissed the idea, saying Melania quickly changed her mind.
“She loved her little office,” he admitted, according to The Daily Beast. (The East Wing is where the First Lady’s office and staff have been located for several decades.)
“But you know what? She’s very smart. In about a day, if you asked her now, she would say, ‘It’s great,’” the president added.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Melania “privately expressed concerns about the demolition of the East Wing and told people close to her that it was not her project, according to government officials.”
In September, construction officially began on the White House Ballroom, a 90,000-square-foot (approximately 8,361-square-meter) addition with an estimated cost of at least $300 million.
Trump had previously mentioned that the plan was designed to “modernize” the East Wing and serve as a space to receive foreign dignitaries.
“The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main White House building, but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be nearly identical,” the press release states. “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small East Wing currently stands, which has undergone many changes and has been rebuilt.”
The new ballroom will feature gold chandeliers, coffered ceilings and a large events space — elements similar to the design of the party hall at Trump’s Palm Beach mansion, Mar-a-Lago.
Sources told People in August that the Trump family has been “bringing Mar-a-Lago to Washington,” with various renovations to the historic property and a remodel of the Oval Office with a gold theme.
In addition to the ballroom, the Trumps added Mar-a-Lago’s signature yellow and white umbrellas to a courtyard that once housed the Rose Garden, and installed a new “Presidential Walk of Fame” along the West Colonnade — a clear jab at former president Joe Biden.
Trump also hung several new portraits of himself throughout the White House and installed marble flooring in at least two rooms.
Although the White House has not yet announced an expected completion date for the new wing, the statement affirms that it will be open “well before the end of President Trump’s term.”
Sources: People | The Daily Beast | The Wall Street Journal. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
