Demolition of the East Wing started Monday on the White House, the place President Donald Trump is constructing a new ballroom.
NCS noticed an excavator tearing down parts of the East Wing, and close-up video and pictures captured areas of the roof torn down and an excavator tearing by way of the inside.
Renderings earlier launched by the White House confirmed that the ballroom, which the administration has stated will likely be funded by Trump and different personal donors, can be constructed over this space.
Trump commented on the development throughout an occasion celebrating the LSU and LSU Shreveport baseball champions within the White House’s East Room on Monday.
“You know, we’re building right behind us — we’re building a ballroom. They wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I’m giving that honor to this wonderful place,” Trump stated. “I didn’t know I’d be standing here right now, because right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically.”
At a recent dinner with high-dollar ballroom donors, Trump stated the $200 million, 90,000-square-foot house can be “in keeping” with the White House structure. He stated will probably be “appropriate in color and in window shape.”
“There won’t be anything like it actually. … You know, a new thing is you build a super modern building next to an old-fashioned building, and I think that’s good, but I don’t have the courage to do that with the White House,” he stated.
During the dinner, the president stated he was advised there have been “zero zoning conditions” set for the mission.
“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’” Trump recalled. “‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”