Trump's Mar-a-White House

Mona Charen
Thu, 23 Oct 2025 09:58:59 -0700
Opinion

The building's facade is gone this morning — an ugly gash reminiscent of the smoldering Pentagon on 9/11. This disfigurement is not the act of terrorists or foreign foes. It's the work of our president. The East Wing of the White House, which has housed the visitors center, the office of the social secretary, the calligraphy office, and the First Lady's staff since 1942, is being demolished. No planning. No proposals to the National Capital Planning Commission. No opportunity for notice and comment from the public. Just Trump's whim — and a beloved national symbol tumbles to dust.

It's obscene.

No, destroying the physical structure of the White House is not as bad, on a moral scale, as blowing up boats carrying possibly innocent people to kingdom come. It's not as bad, as a political science matter, as corrupting the Justice Department to criminally prosecute Trump's critics. It's not as menacing as sending troops into American cities. And yet, this hurt is particularly sharp.
Updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025

The building's facade is gone this morning — an ugly gash reminiscent of the smoldering Pentagon on 9/11. This disfigurement is not the act of terrorists or foreign foes. It's the work of our president. The East Wing of the White House, which has housed the visitors center, the office of the social secretary, the calligraphy office, and the First Lady's staff since 1942, is being demolished. No planning. No proposals to the National Capital Planning Commission. No opportunity for notice and comment from the public. Just Trump's whim — and a beloved national symbol tumbles to dust.

It's obscene.

No, destroying the physical structure of the White House is not as bad, on a moral scale, as blowing up boats carrying possibly innocent people to kingdom come. It's not as bad, as a political science matter, as corrupting the Justice Department to criminally prosecute Trump's critics. It's not as menacing as sending troops into American cities. And yet, this hurt is particularly sharp.

Any American who has ever been stirred by patriotic feeling has at some time or other considered the White House his or her own possession. Ten thousand people a week tour the mansion that is sometimes called the "People's House." They aren't there just to see the Blue Room or the Green Room. They are relishing a piece of their patrimony. The building was basically a character in the hit show "The West Wing," and you cannot count the number of movies — thrillers, histories, love stories — that have been located there. The building itself has semi-sacred status because of its history and because it represents something inestimably precious: this democratic republic.

Trump is not demolishing the whole building, but he's tearing down a wing — a graceful addition that was built to blend into the entire White House complex. In place of the lovely two-story building that featured views of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden and an iconic colonnade that led to the residence, he is constructing a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in the garish style of Mar-a-Lago.

It's all but impossible to imagine that this can be undone. But, as Jonathan V. Last suggests, Democrats interested in running for the presidency in 2028 should make "erasing this monstrosity" a campaign promise.

One of Trump's most successful cons is that he is a patriot. He literally hugs the flag and dubs anyone who supports him — disgraced and jailed former congressmen, criminals who attacked police on Jan. 6, convicted war criminals — patriots. Anyone who opposes or even criticizes Trump is tarred as an enemy of the people and an America hater.

But the bitter truth is that Trump is an antipatriot. He destroys things that make America worthy of love and admiration, and he is twisting the country toward a mean, crass kleptocracy. Our global reputation for humanitarianism? Gone. Our investments in scientific research for the betterment of humanity? In trouble. Our status as a secure financial center? Wobbly. Our reliability as an ally? No more. Our dedication to the rule of law domestically? Teetering. Our rock-solid dedication to freedom of speech? Under threat.

Would a patriot have turned bulldozers on the White House? For the sake of a gargantuan, tacky monarchical event space? Would a patriot show so little regard for how it would feel to his countrymen to see this desecration of a national symbol?

Trump is turning the White House into a reflection of himself — just as he is attempting to do to America. We can't stop the former. We must stop the latter.

Mona Charen is policy editor of The Bulwark and host of the "Beg to Differ" podcast. Her new book, "Hard Right: The GOP's Drift Toward Extremism," is available now.