Trump aides shamelessly troll demolition critics by slipping Democratic scandals into historical White House timeline
The Trump administration responded to the fury over the demolition of the East Wing Thursday by pointing eyeballs to memorable events in White House history that embarrass Democrats.
On a WhiteHouse.gov page, detailing ‘East Wing Expansion Stages,’ President Donald Trump’s aides tucked in some eyebrow-raising incidents including President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, President Barack Obama’s 2012 meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood, and the 2023 discovery of a bag of cocaine in the West Wing, which the Trump staffers falsely attributed to Hunter Biden.
The timeline also mocked President Joe Biden for celebrating ‘Trans Day of Visibility’ in 2023.
The posts were included in what otherwise was a timeline of White House construction, including the addition of the press briefing room in 1970 and First Lady Melania Trump’s tennis pavilion in 2020.
‘Some easter eggs on the White House site for the wannabe historians on social media Enjoy :),’ quipped White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr in an X post Thursday afternoon, highlighting the web page.
The changes to WhiteHouse.gov serve as an example of how the White House is responding to controversies in an outlandish fashion.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently responded to a reporter from a left-leaning outlet with a ‘your mom’ joke when asked about the location for Trump’s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Communications director Steven Cheung accused a top Trump critic of secretly being on the gay hook-up app Grindr.
Pushing back on criticism over the hasty East Wing demolition, President Donald Trump’s staffers included some colorful highlights on a WhiteHouse.gov page detailing ‘East Wing Expansion Stages’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held up a historic picture showing construction of the East Terrace of the White House in 1902 during Thursday’s press briefing, the same section of the White House that was torn down earlier in the day
The trolling comes as veterans of both Democratic and Republican administrations have expressed outrage that the East Wing was torn down in four days with zero oversight to make way for Trump’s $300 million ballroom project.
Trump was able to bypass a historic preservation review by appointing an ally, Staff Secretary Will Scharf, to chair the National Capital Planning Commission, which generally reviews these types of projects.
Scharf argued that the NCPC doesn’t oversee demolitions, just construction, and so tearing down the entirety of the East Wing was legally permissible.
During Thursday’s briefing, Leavitt was asked if that meant the president could tear down anything he wanted, with a reporter using the White House’s West Wing and the Jefferson Memorial as examples.
‘So it’s not the president who came up with that legal opinion himself. That’s the legal opinion that’s been held by the NCPC for many years,’ Leavitt answered.
‘They have ruled consistently, their general counsel has said, when it comes to phase one of this project, the tearing down of the current East Wing structure, a submission is not required legally for that,’ she continued.
‘Only for vertical construction will a submission be required,’ Leavitt added.
On a WhiteHouse.gov page, detailing ‘East Wing Expansion Stages,’ President Donald Trump’s aides tucked in some eyebrow-raising incidents including President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and President Barack Obama hosting members of the Muslim Brotherhood
Photographs from Thursday showed that construction crews not only tore down the entire East Wing but ripped down the East Colonnade too, which included the White House’s movie theater
The reporter interjected: ‘So it sounds like the answer is yes, he can tear down whatever he wants.’
‘That’s not what we’re saying,’ Leavitt pushed back. ‘That’s a legal opinion that’s been held for many years.’
Former NCPC board members told ABC News Thursday that approval should have been sought before demolition started.
Photos from Thursday showed that not only was the East Wing reduced to a pile of rubble, but construction equipment knocked out the East Colonnade as well, which housed the White House’s movie theater.
The East Colonnade was famously decorated by First Lady Melania Trump in blood-red Christmas trees in 2018, creating a viral moment.
Booksellers’ hall, traditionally a gift shop during tours and where guests arrive for state dinners, looked to be the last room standing apart from the main house.
When the president originally announced the ballroom project in July, he made it sound like the East Wing wouldn’t be disturbed, with Leavitt saying it would be ‘modernized.’
She was asked about that choice of wording at Thursday’s briefing, as the White House has taken heat for not being more transparent about the demolition.
‘Look, again, with any construction project, changes come and we have informed all of you. We have been keeping you apprised of this project. We’ve shown you renderings. And if you look at the renderings, it’s very clear that the East Wing was going to be modernized,’ Leavitt said.
The reporter noted that ‘modernizing and tearing down are two different things.’
‘Well, again, … the plans changed when the president heard counsel from the architects and the construction companies who said that in order for this East Wing to be modern and beautiful for many, many years to come, for it to be a truly strong and stable structure, this phase one that we’re now in was necessary,’ Leavitt answered.
‘And the president wants to do right by the people’s house,’ she insisted. ‘And so that’s exactly what he’s doing.’
