A member of the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board bashed President Donald Trump for tearing down the entirety of the East Wing of the White House to build a giant ballroom in a new opinion article published on Sunday.
Collin Levy, who joined the editorial board in 2007, argued that the president's ballroom pet project represents an "astonishing fiasco." She also speared Republicans for their silence as Trump demolishes a "symbol of power, legacy and national identity."
"We now live in a democracy in which a president, with neither public notice nor permission, demolished part of the White House and no one tried to stop him," Levy wrote. "Such is the astonishing fiasco unfolding at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A piece of American history lies in rubble as conservatives dismiss objections from historic preservationists as silly overreaction."
Levy also pushed back on some "bizarre" arguments offered by Republicans, such as that the East Wing deserved to be demolished because it was "primarily the province of first ladies." For instance, she noted that First Ladies have driven literacy initiatives and hosted countless military families in the East Wing.
"History is important, monuments matter," Levy continued. "And the home of the U.S. president isn’t just a building to be optimized for function. It is a symbol of power, legacy and national identity. Respect for the nation and all that it has built still matters. These aren’t trifles or overreactions. They are the foundations of the republic we built. That’s worth defending."