Trump announced the complete demolition of the east wing of the White House

Washington - American President Donald Trump announced that the East Wing of the White House will be completely demolished to make way for the construction of a ballroom. Trump had previously claimed that his ballroom project would not disrupt the existing presidential residence. The Republican head of state also stated that the project will cost 300 million dollars (6.3 billion CZK) compared to the previously cited amount of 200 million dollars (4.3 billion CZK). Trump is facing criticism for intervening in the White House building. This is reported by American media.

"This is not his house. This is your house. And he is destroying it,” wrote on the social network X Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated in the 2016 presidential election. Criticism of Trump is also coming from conservative circles. Commentator Byron York wrote on X that Trump "must tell the public what he is doing to the East Wing of the White House. And then explain to the public why he didn't tell them about it before he started."

On Wednesday, Trump defended the ongoing demolition work before reporters in the Oval Office, Axios reports. "To do it properly, we had to tear down the existing structure,” said Trump. The new ballroom will connect to the main building via a glass bridge, the president also said according to The Washington Post (WP). In the past, he claimed that the ballroom project would respect the existing building and not disrupt it. A White House official told Axios on Wednesday that the East Wing "is being modernized."

The nonprofit organization National Trust for Historic Preservation stated in a letter to government officials this week that the planned ballroom, covering about 8,361 square meters, would overwhelm the White House building itself, which has an area of about 5,110 square meters.

The White House announced on Tuesday that it will soon send the ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which evaluates all external construction projects at the White House and will decide on the approval of the new building. The majority of the twelve-member commission is now made up of Trump's allies, including its chairman, White House Chief of Staff Will Scharf, WP reports.

White House officials have previously stated that Trump's project will be funded by private donors, including wealthy individuals, but also large companies that have contracts with the federal government. Among them are companies like Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Palantir Technologies, WP writes. The financial donations are managed by the National Mall Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has previously helped manage federal government projects, such as the restoration of the Washington Monument after it was damaged by an earthquake in 2011.

The White House was built between 1792 and 1800. Its East Wing, which traditionally housed the First Lady's offices and where White House tours began, was built in 1902 and underwent significant expansion and renovation in 1942.