More than half of Americans disapprove of Trump demolishing East Wing – poll | Donald Trump
More than half of Americans disapprove of Trump demolishing the East Wing of the White House and building a new ballroom. According to a new survey From Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos.
The survey, conducted between October 24 and 28, shows that 56 percent of respondents disagree with Trump’s latest move, while 28 percent support it. Most survey respondents were white; one-third voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 elections, and one-third voted for Kamala Harris.
As of October 24, the East Wing, historically the home base for the First Lady and her team, had been reduced to rubble to make way for the $300 million ballroom, which Donald Trump said was paid for with his funds and private donations.
The East Wing was first known as East Terrace and was built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. In 1942, Franklin Roosevelt created the East Wing in its current form to add work space during the war and to conceal an underground bunker built for the president and staff.
The demolition of the building marks a reversal of the president’s promise in July that none of the White House’s existing infrastructure would be demolished during construction of the ballroom.
Trump said at the time: “It’s going to be beautiful. It’s not going to interfere with the existing building. It’s going to be close to it, but it’s not going to touch it. And it’s going to fully respect the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. That’s my favorite.”
Nearly twice the size of the White House, the 90,000-square-foot ballroom will seat about 1,000 people, according to Trump.
The White House has said the ballroom will be ready for use well before Trump’s term ends in January 2029.
Thursday’s poll reflects this Yahoo/YouGov poll While 61 percent of respondents to the survey, released earlier this week, said they did not support Trump’s ballroom plan, 25 percent supported the move.
Reactions to the ballroom have widened and escalated since the demolition began. Elaine KamarckA former official who worked at the building from 1993 to 1997 told the Guardian earlier this month it was a “disgusting thing”.
“This is typical Trump and it’s going to look terrible. They’re tearing down the entire East Wing of the White House. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s just one more reason why Americans are tired of King Trump,” he said.
