President Trump is pressing ahead with a dramatic transformation of the White House grounds, sharing plans for a sprawling new ballroom and simultaneously ordering the demolition of the historic East Wing.
The project envisions a 90,000 square foot ballroom that would be attached by a glass bridge to the main residence, and it started to budget at about $200 million, but now the estimated costs are up to $300 million. And you won’t be surprised to learn that he has full plans of naming the ballroom after himself!
Demolition of the entire East Wing started a few days back, and many were just appalled at how the beautiful White House will never be the same again.
Many critics argued that the move sidesteps regulatory review, threatens the classical designs of the White House complex, and reflects an ostentatious legacy project instead of the necessary modernization seen today. Trump and his team defended the call and tried to justify how it was privately funded.
The public backlash is major: polls currently show that a major portion of Americans oppose this demolition and the massive ballroom plan.
The coming months will be a major test for the White House as Trump continues to move with the project announced. There are chances he might need to scale back due to regulatory or public pressure.