Demolition at the White House

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Trump administration completed its demolition of the East Wing of the White House on Thursday to make way for a new presidential ballroom. Luke Broadwater, who covers the White House, explains who is paying for President Trump’s latest construction project and why the demolition is striking a nerve.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is the Daily.
0:08.8	On Thursday, the Trump administration completed its demolition of the East Wing of the White
0:14.0	House to make way for a new presidential ballroom.
0:17.4	Nobody's actually seen anything quite like it.
0:20.7	I think it'll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world.
0:23.6	And like so much of the administration's agenda, the decision to turn the
0:28.6	123-year-old annex into a pile of rubble has attracted a mixture of reactions.
0:34.6	That is not your building. Condemnations.
0:39.3	He is tearing down the house.
0:42.3	He is tearing down the people's house.
0:45.3	Praise.
0:46.3	I saw it today.
0:47.3	It looks fantastic.
0:48.3	I'm delighted he's doing it, and I love seeing these liberals melt down.
0:53.3	And ethics concerns.
0:55.0	Trump can apparently hit up his donors
0:57.0	to bankroll the demolition of the literal edifice
0:59.0	of our democratic government.
1:03.0	Today, my colleague Luke Broadwater
1:06.0	explains who's paying for Donald Trump's latest construction project
1:10.0	and why the demolition is striking a nerve.
1:16.2	It's Friday, October 24th.
	...

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