Former First Lady, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Michelle Obama, who is currently busy with the promotional duties of her style book, The Look, scooped some time out to comment on the East Wing demolition at the White House.
Michelle Obama recently appeared on Today show, hosted by Jenna Bush Hager, where she engaged in critical commentary, both implied and direct. “There’s pressure for every first lady,” Michelle said without naming current FLOTUS Melania Trump.
Michelle added, “And I don’t think that other families dealt with that kind of criticism. But as you know, the first lady, it’s a strange job.” The show’s host Jenna Bush Hager, who happens to be the daughter of former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, replied to Michelle, saying, “Well, there’s no guidebook.”
Taking a swipe at Donald Trump’s ambitions $300 million ballroom renovation project at the White House, as a part of which the entire East Wing has been demolished, Michelle said, “There’s no guidebook… There’s barely a staff. Now we don’t have a building.” Bush Hager jokingly added, “I know, R.I.P. the East Wing.”
This is the picture Donald Trump doesn’t want America to see. pic.twitter.com/kHM8IXNRhP
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 23, 2025
In the wake of the multiple assurances from Trump and the White House that the project would not “interfere” with the present structure, pictures of the demolition of the East Wing went going viral on social media, which exposed Trump’s alleged lies. Trump and his administration have been on the receiving end of massive trolling and slamming, both from the opposition as well as the common people.
Despite the massive online trolling, the Trump administration continues to boast about the architectural tweaks. The closest Trump came to defending the East Wing demolition of the structure was in his Truth Social post, in which he mentioned that it is “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete.”
Trump and his administration continue to boast about the Ballroom reconstruction. The White House recently called it “The finest ballroom ever built.” The post also had a quote by Trump that read, “We’re doing it NO COST to the country… in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.”
THE FINEST BALLROOM EVER BUILT!
“We’re doing it NO COST to the country… in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.” – President Trump 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/5puxoB2HZS
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 23, 2025
Trump’s family has actively been defending the demolition of the East Wing online. His sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump recently took a swipe at Hillary Clinton after she opposed the demolition in an X post. While Trump Jr. stuck to slamming the Clintons about the silverware and furniture controversy, the other Trump brother, Eric, decided to remind Hillary of her Haiti controversy.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt also came to defend Trump over the controversial White House demolition. Karoline Leavitt, in a wild claim, called the outrage over the demolition “fake.” She said, “I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now because nearly every single President who has lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the First Lady announced in a statement last week that the White House Public Tours are slated to reopen in December this year. However, there was no mention of the demolished East Wing of the White House, which housed Melania Trump’s office and staff. The closest they got to mentioning any architectural change was about an “updated route” for the guests.
The statement from the Office of the First Lady read, “The White House will reopen its doors for public tours on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, with an updated route offering guests the opportunity to experience the history and beauty of the People’s House.”
