Former first lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday she “felt a loss for us as a nation” when she saw the East Wing of the White House being demolished.
In an interview on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast, Obama was asked what it felt like for her in her body when she saw the viral photos of the East Wing, long home to the first lady’s office among other things, being knocked down to help make space for President Trump’s ballroom, which the president said he is financing through private donations.
“It’s not about me. It’s about us and our traditions and what they stand for,” Obama said. “I think in my body, I felt confusion because I’m like, well, what — who are we? What do we value? And who decides that?”
She added, “That’s the thing that’s going through my head a lot lately.”
The former first lady said she’s been reflecting on “the rules” of our society, saying, “I’m confused by what are our norms and our mores — not the laws — but how do we live together?”
“That’s the part of it that hurts. It’s not the house,” she continued, adding, “I think I felt a loss for us as a nation, but personally, you know, that was not our — that’s not our house. That’s the people’s house.”
Obama similarly stressed that the building belongs to the people, not to current or past first families, when she was asked about the demolition on CBS’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this month.
“What I will remind people is that the house is not our house,” she said at the time.
“We never viewed it as our house. We were there for a time. We had a job to do,” the former first lady continued. “We always felt it was the people’s house.”
Construction crews began tearing down the East Wing last month to construct Trump’s planned $300 million ballroom. Trump initially said it would not be completely demolished but added later that the space needed to be razed in order to “properly” complete the planned 90,000-square-foot space.
Despite the criticism, Trump told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham during an on-camera tour earlier this month that building ballrooms is his “greatest strength.”
White House to present plans for Trump’s East Wing ballroom in January
PALM BEACH, Florida, Dec 25 (Reuters) – The White House will unveil new details on President Donald Trump’s planned East Wing ballroom during a hearing early next month, according to a federal commission tasked with reviewing the project.
The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building, has been challenged in court by preservationists, while Democratic lawmakers have called it an abuse of power and are investigating which donors are supporting it.
The National Capital Planning Commission, chartered by Congress to manage planning for Washington-area federal lands, said on its website that the White House will provide an “information presentation” on plans to rebuild the East Wing during a commission meeting on January 8.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The commission, chaired by a White House aide and onetime personal lawyer to Trump, Will Scharf, has declined to review the demolition of the former East Wing, preparation activities at the site, or potential effects to historic properties, in what would mark the biggest change to the historic property in decades.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress, is suing to halt the construction, arguing that the proposed 90,000 square foot (8,360 square meter) ballroom would dwarf the rest of the White House, at 55,000 square feet.
The judge in the case earlier this month declined to issue a temporary restraining order against work on the project, noting among other things that the size, scale and other specifications had not been finalized. Another hearing is scheduled for next month.
The president, a one-time real estate developer, has taken a hands-on role in what he has described as sprucing up the White House and the U.S. capital city ahead of celebrations next year marking the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.
He has also proposed a new grand arch near Washington, while decorating the Oval Office extensively in gold leaf and installing plaques there offering his personal take on his predecessors’ legacies.
The former East Wing was largely demolished in October, with comparatively little public notice or consultation.
In a recent notice posted online, the planning commission said a formal review taking place this coming spring will consider topics including lines of sight, public space and landscapes. Members of the public will be allowed to submit comments or testify during the review, it said.