DAVID COOK / OPINION EDITOR

The White House is getting a makeover unlike anything we have ever seen on Pennsylvania Avenue. President Donald Trump ordered the destruction of the East Wing, the historic section of the building that has housed the First Lady’s offices and a small private theatre for decades. The announcement sparked outrage across social media and cable news, with critics calling it a blatant act of disrespect toward history and tradition.

The aftermath of the destruction of the East Wing, seen on the right, shows the complete destruction of the historic building. Photo courtesy of @nbcnews/Instagram

Personally, I am not as outraged about this as others — not because there is nothing to be upset about, but because this is a predictable move staged to distract Americans from the real issues we face daily. 

Some may argue that the East Wing represents far more than just architecture. It is a symbol of continuity and quiet influence within the presidency. The space has reflected the evolving role of women in American political life. While an initial version of the East Wing was built in 1902, the larger structure that we know today was added in 1942 under Franklin D. Roosevelt to conceal a wartime bunker beneath it. 

Eleanor Roosevelt, meanwhile, became the first First Lady to truly professionalize her office there, turning the space into a center of press and policy activity. Lady Bird Johnson later used it to promote her environmental “Beautification” campaigns. Hillary Clinton made it a base for her healthcare reform efforts, and Michelle Obama used it to champion her health and education initiatives. 

It  is  indeed  ironic  that Melania  Trump  is  the  current First  Lady,  given  that  she  has been  one  of  the  least  visible First Ladies in recent history. Perhaps  part of the reason Trump decided to tear it down was that the First Lady was  never going  to be a roadblock. Melania  has  kept  a   notably   low  profile  throughout her tenure, and the East Wing,  which was once a center of visibility and advocacy, has not carried the  same  weight  under  her. 

Tearing  it  down  isn’t  just  a construction  project,  but  it’s  the destruction  of  a  physical  archive of  American  cultural  and  political history. The East Wing has long been a space where influence took a quieter path to progress. This is where social causes were shaped, where visiting students, diplomats and military officials came, and where the role of the First Lady shifted from hostess to advocate. 

Its walls have seen decades of changing expectations for women in power and shifting definitions of public service. Removing it means more than losing a building; it means stripping away a chapter of how American leadership  has learned to listen and engage beyond politics.

Now, Trump plans to replace it with a grand ballroom — something more reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago than the White House. And honestly, that feels symbolic too. As an American citizen, this is the most explicit statement about priorities we have from the administration. The same administration that hides flight logs, restricts access to reporters in the Pentagon and tries to get shows taken off the air for differences in opinions is more transparent about the architecture than its own policies.

 The East Wing represented service, diplomacy and the understated labor of those who supported the presidency behind the scenes. A ballroom, on the other hand, is a space  for the wealthy, the powerful and the performative. It reflects the broader  shift in American  politics: away  from public  service and civic duty and toward personal status and luxury. It’s the same energy that drives tax cuts for billionaires, causes photo ops masquerading as policy and cuts healthcare for millions of Americans. 

In all honesty, though, I don’t care as much as others about the destruction    of   the   East   Wing.  Not    because    it    is  meaningless,  but because it is expected. It’s another headline designed to stir outrage for a few days before we move   on   to  the  next  one.  If  Donald Trump wants to build a ballroom, so be it. Every week has a new controversy, a new distraction, a new “end of democracy” moment that everyone fixates on until something shinier comes along.

Meanwhile, the real stories — immigration    reform,    the  return of nuclear  bomb  testing  in America, climate policy, healthcare  costs,  gun  violence and  the Epstein  files  —  stay  buried  under the  noise.  Every  controversy becomes a trending topic.  We yell, post and move on, all while  the  issues  that  actually  shape people’s lives remain untouched.

That may be why the East Wing’s destruction feels so symbolic after all. The White House theatre is being torn down, but politics has never been more performative. And while the media debates which part of the building goes next, we keep missing the parts of history that are disappearing in real time. It is time to stop ignoring the real problems Americans face every day. 

On Oct. 20, destruction of the East Wing began, creating space for President Trump’s new ballroom. Photo courtesy of wayneskinnerdc/Instagram