President Donald Trump responded to questions from Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Monday about the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for his new $300 million ballroom.
Ingraham asked the president about a report, published last month by the Wall Street Journal, that first lady Melania Trump privately raised concerns about the project. The East Wing houses the offices for the first lady and her staff.
Trump was asked on The Ingraham Angle, “There was a report that Melania didn’t love this idea. Is that true?”
The president responded, “She loved her little tiny office in it [the East Wing], but she’s very smart. In about one day … if you asked her now, she says it’s great.”
He continued, “The East Wing, it sounds good, but that building was renovated 20 times, including adding a floor to the top, which was terrible. It was made out of common brick, little tiny windows, it looked like hell, it had nothing do with the original building. I didn’t want to sacrifice a great ballroom for an OK ballroom by leaving it right smack in the middle.”
The White House has said that the East Wing offices will be rebuilt as part of the ballroom construction.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
