Demolishing the White House East Wing to build a ballroom embodies Trump’s heritage politics
- Written by R. Grant Gilmore III, Director, Historic Preservation and Community Planning Program, College of Charleston
Demolition in process on the East Wing of the White House, Oct. 23, 2025. AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinFrom ancient Egypt to Washington, D.C., rulers have long used architecture and associated stories to project power, control memory and shape national identity. As 17th-century French statesman Jean-Baptiste Colbert observed:
“In the absence of...









