Democrats, liberal media figures fume over Trump demolishing White House East Wing for ballroom

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Democratic leaders and left-leaning media figures condemned President Donald Trump this week after he broke ground on a new White House ballroom project, with one MSNBC host saying he was "literally destroying the people's house."

Figures, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Chelsea Clinton; and CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert accused Trump of dishonoring the White House after his construction crews bulldozed part of the East Wing of the building on Monday.

"The people’s house is basically being sold to the highest bidder," Jean-Pierre said on ABC’s "The View" on Tuesday. "It is corruption at its core."

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Trump announced Monday that construction crews had begun tearing down part of the East Wing to make room for his privately funded White House ballroom, a project that's been in the works for months. 

Images of the East Wing demolition went viral on social media, prompting a wave of criticism from prominent Democrats and media personalities.

During Wednesday’s episode of MSNBC’s "All In with Chris Hayes," Jeffries said Trump has "found time to demolish the East Wing of the White House so that he can build a ballroom where he can be celebrated as if he was a king."

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MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said Tuesday, "Donald Trump is literally destroying the people's house."

On "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Thursday night, the host mocked corporations that have reportedly donated to Trump’s ballroom fund.

"Trump has received a lot of money for his balldoggle from groveling corporations like Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Meta Platforms and Hard Rock International," Colbert said. "Yes, the Hard Rock. So, guests of the ballroom will get to see all of the great rock ’n’ roll presidential memorabilia like Bill Clinton’s sax and Nixon’s cone bra."

Colbert later joked, "It’s going to be 90,000 square feet. Ninety thousand is about the same size as a professional soccer field. So, remember, corporations, as you bribe the president, no hands."

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Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show" also mocked the ballroom project on Thursday night.

Host Mike Kosta said, "But I do think this serves as a perfect reminder to never listen to what Trump says and instead look at what he does. Because he says, ‘I won’t touch the East Wing,’ but he does demolish the East Wing. Just like he says he supports free speech, but he does punish anyone who tries to use it."

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton blasted Trump in a new op-ed for having a "disregard for history" and taking a "wrecking ball to our heritage." 

Clinton's mother, former first lady Hillary Clinton, posted on X this week, "It's not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.

The White House released a statement defending the demolition, saying the new ballroom is a privately funded addition meant to "echo the storied history of improvements and additions by presidents to the executive residence." 

The statement called the criticism "unhinged" and accused media outlets of overreacting.

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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.