A former chief historian of the White House Historical Association has slammed the demolition of the East Wing to make way for President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom.
Edward Lengel suggested the Founding Fathers would be “disgusted” by the changes and warned CNN’s Erin Burnett that more controversial changes could be on the way.
“I think we’re going to see more and more surprises down the road,” predicted Lengel after it emerged that the full wing will be torn down, despite the president’s previous assurances to the contrary.
“Both in terms of the impact on the Executive Mansion itself,” he explained. “It could go beyond the East Wing; it could affect the Executive Mansion building itself, the original 1800 building. But I think much more likely what we’re going to see is a ballroom that’s going to be even more ostentatious, and it’s going to turn the Executive Mansion into an annex to the party space.”
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The White House, as it currently stands, reflects “225 years of history,” said Lengel, but attention will now be drawn “to this giant ballroom which really has one man’s name on it,” that of Trump.
“It’s going to cast the Executive Mansion into the shade and turn it much more into a presidential palace,” added Lengel, who served as the nonprofit’s chief historian during Trump’s first term.
“As a Founding Fathers historian, I’ve spent most of my life with George Washington,” he added. “I think all of the founders would have been disgusted by this.”
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