President Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to demolish a portion of the White House East Wing to build a ballroom, saying that the demolition was necessary “to do it properly.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Mr. Trump said that “some of the best architects in the world” determined that “really knocking it down” was the best course of action.
“In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure,” Mr. Trump said, adding that the portion of the East Wing was demolished to add a bridge between the White House and the proposed ballroom.
Mr. Trump insisted that the East Wing had changed so much over the years and that the ballroom construction did not harm any of its historic charm.
He said there “was not much left from the original” East Wing, citing the removal of original columns and adding a second story to the section.
“In 1948, 1949, there was a story added on which was not particularly nice, and the building was very much changed from what it was originally. It was never thought of as being much. It was a very small building and rather than allowing that to hurt a very expensive, beautiful building that, frankly, they’ve been after for years,” Mr. Trump said. “It’ll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world.”
In July, Mr. Trump insisted that the White House would remain intact and largely untouched as the ballroom was being built.
“It won’t interfere with the current building,” he said. “It will be near it but not touching it. And pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”
Mr. Trump, a real estate developer before becoming president, is spending $250 million to build a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom to host parties, state visits, and other events.
The ballroom is being funded by private donations as well as by Mr. Trump himself, according to the White House.
The White House has not said how much of his own money Mr. Trump is shelling out, nor has it released the names of the private donors.
However, criticism of the project has mounted since construction began Monday.
The leader of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Washington nonprofit organization that protects historic U.S. sites, wrote a letter to White House officials saying she was “deeply concerned” by the project.
The letter said the scope of the new construction would “overwhelm the White House itself… and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” wrote Carol Quillen, the Trust’s president and CEO.
The trust asked Mr. Trump to halt the demolition walk, arguing that the White House was a national historic landmark and officials need to hold a public review process for the plan.
The Society of Architectural Historians also said it had “great concerns” about the project, and echoed the call for a review process because of the size of the planned construction.
The White House has pushed back on the criticism, issuing a statement accusing “unhinged leftists” of “clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House – a bold, necessary addition.”
Mr. Trump reiterated Wednesday that the renovations won’t cost U.S. taxpayers any money because he has solicited private donations to pay for it.
“It’s being paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine,” he said. “The government is paying absolutely nothing.”
White House officials have said the project does not require sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, an agency that oversees construction and renovations to government buildings, because the project is funded with private donations.
However, on Tuesday, the White House reversed course and said it will submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for review.
The commission is led by Will Scharf, a White House aide.