However, on Monday pictures emerged of the outer fa\u00e7ade of the wing being torn down. The demolition of the entire wing is now set to be complete by the weekend, a senior administration official told The New York Times.<\/p>\n
![\"Demolition](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/75f3db2d-9949-4f54-9abc-642ba452d77a.jpg\")
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Demolition of a section of the East Wing of the White House on Tuesday<\/p>\n
AARON SCHWARTZ\/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
![\"Model](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/b67e6529-6b01-49d5-b6c1-06139b820b52.jpg\")
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A model of the new White House ballroom on display in the Oval Office<\/p>\n
REUTERS\/KEVIN LAMARQUE<\/p>\n
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that the new \u201cbig beautiful ballroom<\/a>\u201d was necessary to provide event space on the grounds.<\/p>\n \u201cPresidents for decades in the modern time have quipped about how they wish they had a larger event space here at the White House that can hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Rooms can,\u201d Leavitt told Fox News.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, President Obama notably complained that during his tenure he had to hold a state visit on the South Lawn and get a very expensive tent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Rise of Chicago\u2019s \u2018Obamalisk\u2019 splits opinion in city where it all began<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n During a press conference in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, Trump defended the demolition works. <\/p>\n He said: \u201cCertain areas are being left but we determined that after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world, we determined that really knocking it down\u2026 you know, the East Wing was not much. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very small building and rather than allowing that to hurt a very expensive, beautiful building that, frankly, they\u2019ve been after for years.\u201d<\/p>\n Plans for the proposed ballroom<\/p>\n Trump also revealed the cost of the project had risen again from an estimated $250 million. \u201cI think it will be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world. It\u2019s about DOLLARS 300 million.\u201d He said it would be funded \u201c100 per cent by me and some friends of mine, donors\u201d.<\/p>\n When asked about a lack of transparency concerning the plans, Trump called the journalist a \u201cthird-rate reporter\u201d and said he had shown the plans \u201cto everybody that would listen\u2026. It\u2019s gotten really great reviews.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House also separately released a statement attacking the \u201cmanufactured outrage\u201d of those criticising the ballroom and detailing renovations undertaken by previous presidents.<\/p>\n The president said on Monday that the space would be capable of holding 999 people. Last week he hosted a dinner for those who had contributed to the ballroom\u2019s construction so far.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of legends in the room tonight, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re here to celebrate you, because you gave,\u201d Trump told those present, which included representatives from companies including Apple, Google and Amazon.<\/p>\n \u201cThey wanted to have a ballroom, and it never happened because they didn\u2019t have a real-estate person.\u201d<\/p>\n Laura Bush, the first lady, and Michelle Obama in the East Wing in 2009<\/p>\n CHARLES OMMANNEY\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Preservationists have warned against proceeding with the demolition until approval from a public review process is granted.<\/p>\n On Tuesday Carol Quillen, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, issued a statement expressing concern about the size of the new ballroom.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the National Trust acknowledges the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House, we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself \u2014 it is 55,000 square feet \u2014 and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,\u201d Quillen wrote.<\/p>\n \u2022 Arc de Trump? Mixed reception for president\u2019s monument plan<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/85ed9f71-95d8-4fe6-ba9b-59ec7fab5e0b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/bd3f40ea-b16a-4640-8b84-ca58d8fb0a9d.jpg\")
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