Camilla Jessen
Donald Trump has once again embarked on a gigantic and controversial construction project.
Donald Trump is once again making headlines.
The president has ordered the demolition of the entire East Wing to build a lavish $300 million gold ballroom, a move that has stunned critics and those once closest to the Trump family.
While Trump has proudly promoted the project, Melania Trump has remained silent — until now.
According to US media reports cited by Newsner, Melania has privately expressed concern and disapproval, reportedly telling confidants that she “has nothing to do with the project because it is not hers.”
The East Wing was home to her former office, and its destruction also means the loss of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and the historic East Colonnade.
These features are now visibly missing from satellite images, due to the sheer scale of the changes.
A shrinking role
Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s former chief of staff, told CNN the news “breaks her heart.”
She said, “It’s something that can never be recreated,” describing the speed of the demolition as “like a condemned house in three days.”
The East Colonnade held symbolic value for Melania. In 2018, she planted 40 red trees in honor of fallen U.S. soldiers. That memorial, too, is now gone.
Observers see the dramatic overhaul as reflecting Melania’s increasingly withdrawn role. Reports suggest she currently maintains just five permanent staffers, all reassigned to other parts of the White House.
“She doesn’t care about tradition”
First lady historian Kate Andersen Brower called the destruction “symbolic,” telling CNN, “Watching the demolition is like watching the role of the first lady shrink and shrink.”
“She’s making it clear that—like her husband—she doesn’t want to be like any previous first lady,” Brower added. “She also doesn’t care about historical traditions.”
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, who may have used AI in the preparation
