Trump Begged East Wing Construction Happen at Night to 'Hide it From Public'... as Prez Opted for 'Cheaper and Faster' Destruction of Landmark
President Trump originally wanted to begin demolition of the East Wing of the White House in the middle of the night.
Oct. 30 2025, Published 7:57 a.m. ET
President Trump reportedly wanted to swoop in under the cover of darkness to destroy the East Wing of the White House, RadarOnline.com can report, in an attempt to keep the massive construction project "hidden" from the public.
The controversial ballroom has now ballooned to a price of more than $300million.
Trump Decides to Tear Down the East Wing
Trump had originally promised the building of his ballroom wouldn't interfere with the historic landmark.
After first promising that construction would have no effect on the historic building, bulldozers completely leveled the East Wing for the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Trump biographer and nemesis Michael Wolff said the president dropped his promise not to touch the "people's house" after learning it would be much quicker to simply tear it down.
"They had a meeting and they said, 'Listen, it really would be much cheaper and faster just to tear down the East Wing,'" Wolff said on the Inside Trump's Head podcast.
And the president decided the easiest way to back out of his promise was to raze the building in the middle of the night.
Trump's 'Real Estate Trick'
However, the president changed his mind when he was told tearing the wing down would be faster
Wolff continued: "(Trump) said – this was given to me as a quote – he said, 'F---. But can we do the demolition at night?'"
Podcast co-host Joanna Coles realized: "So the idea would be, Washington would wake up and the East Wing would have evaporated."
Wolff explained that if the construction was already well underway, critics would have no choice but to accept it, something the businessman knows all about.
"That's a real estate developer trick. What you tear down, you cannot build back," Wolff said.
Trump Fires His Architecture Consultant Board
The president has been accused of trying to circumvent government agencies and committees.
Meanwhile, as piles of rubble grow, so too does the backlash against the ballroom. Trump has faced questions and criticism from several opponents who claim he did not go through the proper channels to approve the destruction of the historic landmark.
Earlier this week, the president abruptly fired all six sitting members of a board that oversees architecture in Washington, D.C. The Commission of Fine Arts was comprised of six members, all of whom were appointed during Joe Biden's time in the White House.
A White House spokesman explained: "We are preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump's America First Policies."
The firings are not unprecedented, as Biden also replaced at least six members of the commission that Trump had named during his first term.
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Trump's Pleased with his Project
Trump called construction noise 'music to my ears.'
Amid the construction outcry, the White House issued a scathing statement about "unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump's visionary addition."
A seven-foot fence was erected around the construction to shield its view from lookie-loos, and federal employees have been instructed not to post or share pics of the progress.
But all indications are the president is pleased with his reconstruction project, as he boasted to reporters: "You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back."
"You hear that sound?" Trump said as he raised a finger to his ear. "That's music to my ears. I love that sound. Other people don't like it, I love it."
He added: "I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money."
