Reactions mounted Thursday as footage showed the White House's East Wing "pretty much gone" as a damning poll shows Americans are appalled by the demolition, viewing it as a "gut punch."
"A YouGov America survey shows that 50 percent disapprove of the overall White House refurb, as opposed to just 33 percent who declare that they are in favor," The Daily Beast reports. "Some 53 percent are against the East Wing being torn down, while just 24 percent of the 2,000 people polled favor Trump’s redesign of the extension, originally constructed in 1902."
Trump has said that the changes were a long time coming and claimed the construction was "music to my ears" on Monday.
"We’re building a ballroom. They’ve wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I’m giving that honor to this wonderful place," Trump said.
Social media users responded to the startling images and videos of the building:
"It looks like the East Wing is pretty much gone," reporter Matt Novak wrote on Bluesky.
"East wing carnage," reporter and analyst Molly Jong-Fast wrote on Bluesky.
"This image of the East Wing of the White House is a metaphor for broader, reckless destruction. The ballroom that will go up there will be a gaudy monument to vanity, corruption and excess.For anyone who has worked at the WH, or cares about its rich history, it's a gut punch," David Axelrod, political analyst and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, wrote on X.
"Trump just unilaterally destroyed the entire East Wing after claiming 'modest renovations.' Asked no one. No study done. No public input. No historical preservation efforts. All that history gone on the whims of one man," analyst and strategist Rachel Bitecofer wrote on X.
"It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it," former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote on X.
"Three problems with the destruction of the East Wing of the White House: 1. Dubious legality. 2. High likelihood of corruption in funding. 3. Grotesque deformation of an American house, built in an harmonious and republican ethos, soon to be bloated by an emiratic carbuncle," journalist Terry Moran wrote on X.
"Guess what, America? Your favorite president PROMISED that the consruction of his bullshit $250M ballroom would not cause any damage to The White House. Now he's demolishing its ENTIRE EAST WING! And he's doing the same to our entire country!" Producer Morgan J. Freeman wrote on X.