'He will not leave': Expert warns White House demolition exposed Trump's real goal

An expert warned Monday that the White House demolition exposed President Donald Trump's real goal behind the ballroom — saying "he will not leave."

Journalist Brian Karem told fellow journalists Jim Acosta and April Ryan on "The Jim Acosta Show" podcast that the images were striking and revealed much more than just the president's desire to build a ballroom.

"This is for Donald Trump's ego. That's right. And his legacy," Karem said. "Donald Trump does not want to leave the White House until they roll him out in the coffin and put him in state in that ballroom and charge you $1,000 a head to view him for a week. That's Donald Trump's goal. He will not leave the White House. He'll find a way to try and run in 2028. This is all a monument to his ego. He came out over the weekend and said, 'I'm not a king.' And then what did he immediately do?"

Acosta asked Karem, "And since when is it OK for the president of the United States to unilaterally just start tearing the building apart?"

"Never," Karem responded.

It's significant because previous White House renovations have required Congressional approval, he added.

"Remember when it was renovated, there was a renovation, what was it, during the Roosevelt years, I believe, and that had to go through Congress, and there was funds appointed to do it, and there was a lot of concern during the Truman restoration," Karem said. "That's when it was. And then at the same time, not only did they have to have Congress approve of it and give them money for it... there was a real consternation over the Lincoln ball bedroom and all this stuff that was going to be destroyed. And they just rebuilt it back inside the facade."

But the difference this time is stark.

"This guy [Trump] doesn't even care about the facade. He doesn't care about Congress. He cares about a monument to his own failing health and ego. And that's what it is," Karem argues.