As you may have seen, I’ve been making the rounds on Trump’s unpermited destruction of the East Wing in favor of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the White House. I told Rolling Stone, CNN, NBC, the 19th, and anyone else with a camera that this week’s spectacle isn’t just bad preservation—it’s a metaphor for America.
The image is obscene — the working heart of the White House, the part built for public service, stripped to its bones for vanity’s sake. To dismantle it is to erase the part of power that serves and to exalt the part that performs. In his hands, the presidency becomes not a duty but a stage set: marble as ego armor, construction as self-creation.
There’s a reason autocrats build ballrooms and democrats build libraries. One invites applause; the other invites reflection. The destruction of the East Wing is less about architecture than appetite — the refusal to share power unless it’s ornamental. It’s a renovation of the presidency itself: public service gutted, self-image expanded.
Here were my notes for the TV hits:
1. Origins and purpose
The East Wing was never designed for spectacle. It served governance, not grandeur.
Conceived as functional office space and a public reception entry — a symbol of accessibility, not excess..
For more than a century, the East Wing embodied civic service and democratic labor.
Eleanor Roosevelt championed labor rights and women reporters.
Lady Bird Johnson coordinated civil-rights outreach
2. What’s happening now
Initial statements claimed the East Wing would remain intact.
demolition began on October 20 to clear space for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom commissioned by Donald Trump.
The image of the white house torn apart is obscene — the working heart of the White House, the part built for public service, stripped to its bones for vanity’s sake.
To dismantle it is to erase the part of power that serves, and to exalt the part that performs.
The project’s estimated cost is $250 million — advertised as “privately funded,” yet built on public land and reliant on federal oversight and maintenance.
Offices that once produced landmark social and legislative reforms are being reduced to rubble to make room for luxury space.
3. Architectural reality
Have been renovations
Kennedy, Truman piano incident, etc
The East Room already hosts about 200 guests for ceremonies.
The new ballroom is scaled for 650 to 1,000 guests — closer to a casino banquet hall than the home of a democracy.
The East Wing was designed to mirror the West Wing, modest and neoclassical in proportion.
The new addition breaks that symmetry with a two-story hall, service tunnels, expanded security corridors, and a façade built for spectacle.
It transforms a space meant for public service into a monument to private power.
4. Cost and consequence
“Privately funded” does not mean cost-free.
Secret Service security redesigns, National Park Service preservation reviews, and GSA permitting all use public funds.
It will cost more to heat, light, decorate, and secure. Every chandelier adds to the taxpayer’s bill.
Long-term costs — utilities, HVAC, cleaning, staffing — remain taxpayer obligations.
He builds it; the public guards, heats, and maintains it forever.
5. The broader symbolism
Construction proceeds as the government faces another shutdown fight.
It’s Versailles during a budget crisis — excess erected atop dysfunction.
There’s a reason autocrats build ballrooms and presidents build libraries.
One invites applause; the other invites reflection.
It’s a renovation of the presidency itself: public service gutted, self-image expanded.
Presidents are meant to expand democracy, not the floor plan.
The White House once symbolized civic duty and shared ownership; it now risks becoming a private club with federal utilities.
Ceremonial and National Roles
Gold Star Family receptions: The East Wing is where military families meet presidents in private after funerals or Medal of Honor ceremonies.
Holiday tours and Easter Egg Rolls: Planned by the Social Office since the Truman era; these events have functioned as rituals of civic belonging.
September 11, 2001: The East Wing was part of the White House evacuation route; staff later returned there to organize condolence outreach to victims’ families.
See you soonish!
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Damn…”one is built for applause, the other for reflection.” Hit me in the soul.
Thank you for keeping informed, accurate, historical fires burning!