Parts of White House demolished as Trump’s $250M golden ballroom project begins

WASHINGTON, DC: Demolition began Monday, October 20, on the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Donald Trump’s lavish new $250 million ballroom, a gold-accented structure inspired by his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Photos showed heavy construction equipment tearing into the century-old East Wing, sending crashing sounds echoing through the White House grounds as staff and reporters looked on.

While initial plans suggested the East Wing would remain partially intact, the president confirmed last week that the entire structure would be replaced to accommodate the grand ballroom. 

East Wing demolition begins for Trump’s $250M ballroom

Images captured revealed a backhoe ripping through the East Wing walls, with dust and debris filling the air. The once-pristine structure, built in 1902 and expanded in 1942 to house offices for first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, is now being leveled.

“Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after footage of the demolition surfaced.

At a fundraising dinner last week, Trump told donors, “It will be demolished. Everything out there is coming down and it will be replaced by the most beautiful ballroom.”

The president unveiled the project’s progress during the dinner, opening golden curtains to reveal the demolition site and thanking contributors for financing the construction. 

Lavish design inspired by Mar-a-Lago

Announced in July, the 25,000-square-foot ballroom will host state dinners and official events. Renderings show crystal chandeliers, gilded columns, and gold inlays reminiscent of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and his former DC hotel.

“The ballroom will be one of the best anywhere in the world,” Trump told guests. “There won’t be anything like it.” The project will reportedly be privately funded, with Trump contributing personally. Major donors include Apple, Google, Lockheed Martin, and T-Mobile.

The East Wing has long housed the first lady’s offices and served as the public entrance to the White House. Initially constructed under President Theodore Roosevelt, it underwent major renovations in 1942 to include a second story and a bomb shelter beneath. 

Now, the wing’s walls, once home to the calligraphy office and event spaces, are being torn down, with trees cleared to make room for the new extension.

Inside Trump’s wider White House makeover

The ballroom project is part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping redesign of the White House during his second term. This year alone, he has installed giant flagpoles on both lawns, replaced the Rose Garden grass with white stone, gilded the Oval Office and Cabinet Room with gold leaf, and added a “Presidential Walk of Fame” along the West Wing Colonnade. 

During a recent event with college baseball teams, Trump joked about the ballroom’s proximity to the East Room, saying, “That’s a knock-out panel and that goes right into the ballroom. So you’ll have drinks, cocktails, everything on this floor and they’ll say, ‘Welcome to dinner,’ walk into the ballroom.”

The ballroom is expected to accommodate 1,000 guests and feature bulletproof glass.