The Washington Post editorial board praised President Trump’s controversial demolition of the East Wing of the White House.
“The White House cannot simply be a museum to the past. Like America, it must evolve with the times to maintain its greatness. Strong leaders reject calcification. In that way, Trump’s undertaking is a shot across the bow at NIMBYs everywhere,” the Post’s editorial board said in an opinion piece published Saturday.
Destruction of the East Wing was completed last Thursday, with excavators first spotted the Monday before the demolition.
It previously held the office of first lady Melania Trump, the offices of the White House social secretary and calligrapher, the movie theater and the presidential bunker.
The demolition of the East Wing to leave space for the president’s ballroom has triggered outcry from critics. Trump had initially said that the ballroom would be close to but “not touching” the existing building.
The Washington Post’s editorial board said in their piece that “Trump joins a long list of presidents who have left their imprint on the White House.”
“Theodore Roosevelt replaced greenhouses to construct the West Wing. William Howard Taft constructed the first Oval Office in 1909. Richard M. Nixon converted a swimming pool into the press briefing room in 1970,” the editorial board added.
“The modern East Wing wasn’t even built until World War II to cover up an underground bunker. Harry S. Truman gutted the White House interior and added the balcony that bears his name. Purists decried it. Now it’s a hallmark.”
The Post is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
