Donald Trump Gets Caught In A Lie As White House Ballroom Causes Controversy

A lot of people have a hard time trusting Donald Trump, and it's easy to see why. He's lied countless times about his height and has been roundly mocked for doing so. He's also routinely lied about his real skin tone and then accidentally exposed the truth repeatedly. He's been suspected of lying to his own accountants in the past and was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records regarding hush money he paid to an adult film star.

However, Trump's latest entanglement with not telling the whole truth has stirred up controversy and the ire of many online. On October 20, parts of the historic East Wing of the White House were completely demolished by wrecking crews as they began construction on Trump's $250 million grand ballroom. The scene of demolition at the White House shocked many and sparked blowback from some critics who pointed out that Trump previously said the project wouldn't be anywhere near this massive.

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"Remember when Donald Trump said that construction of his new $250M ballroom wouldn't interfere with the existing White House structure?" journalist Karly Kingsley posted on X, alongside a photo of an excavator tearing apart the walls of the historic East Wing. Back in July, Trump did indeed tell reporters (via CNBC) that the new ballroom "won't interfere with the current building." The president went so far as to say, "It'll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of."

Donald Trump is obviously no stranger to controversy and has stirred up many scandals over his two separate terms in office. His latest move to build a grand ballroom as part of a huge-budget vanity project is no exception, and many political rivals and critics have jumped on the opportunity to take Trump to task for his decision to so aggressively redesign a piece of iconic American history.

"Nothing is more on the nose than right after a protest about how Trump acts like a dictator he decides to demolish the literal f***ing White House," one X user wrote, referencing the No Kings protests over the weekend. The user also posted another photo of the unsettling destruction. Another critic tweeted, "The king is turning the White House into a palace, and he will not leave unless he's forcibly evicted." The concern over Trump's actions isn't limited to online critics and partisan social media commentators. California Governor Gavin Newsom, an outspoken critic of Trump, took to social media and mocked the president's decision to prioritize the demolition of the White House over working to find a way to end the government shutdown.

The legality and ethics of Trump's latest move have also been called into question. Former chief historian of the National Park Service (NPS), Robert K. Sutton, spoke with the BBC about the demolition. He said that the NPS typically has oversight on any White House renovations, reviews the plans and contracts, and gives approval to any construction, which he says largely has not been done in this case. "This building is so important. It's considered, I think, to be the most important executive building in the world – yet we just don't know what's happening and I think that's very inappropriate," he said.