The pictures speak for themselves. Behind a plank, excavators and bulldozers have been unleashed on the east wing of the White House, which for decades housed the office of the US First Lady and a number of reception rooms.
The facade of the house is gaping open and wires and building materials hang loosely from the body of the house, which was built in 1902 in connection with a renovation during Theodore Roosevelt's time as president.
Low support
Now the building is a thing of the past. Instead, an 8,000-square-meter gold ballroom is to be built in time for the United States' 250th birthday on July 4 next year. The ballroom, which according to Trump is expected to cost the equivalent of just over two billion kronor, will be paid for by the president himself and a number of donors.
"To do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure," Trump told reporters the other day.
But his countrymen are not entirely satisfied. 56 percent disapprove while 28 percent support the construction, according to a poll commissioned by The Washington Post and ABC News. In Trump's party, the Republicans, support is at 62 percent, compared to just 4 percent in the opposing party, the Democrats.
First Lady Melania Trump is reported to have privately objected to her husband's demolition order and asked him to preserve the east wing, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources. However, the country's first lady has not commented publicly on the matter.
Changed plans?
Last summer, President Trump claimed that construction of the new ballroom would not affect the existing White House. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, referred to “changed plans” when pressed recently to explain the sudden demolition.
The president listened to the architects and the construction company who said that if this east wing is going to be modern and beautiful for many, many years – if the structure is going to be truly strong and stable – the phase we are in now was necessary, Leavitt said, according to ABC News .
