President Donald Trump responded to former first lady Michelle Obama’s criticism of his White House renovation plans in an interview with Laura Ingraham, boasting that the new ballroom replacing the East Wing will be “one of the greatest” in the world.
“The East Wing is being spent by private donors. It’s a $250, $300 million building. It’s going to be the most beautiful anywhere in the world,” he said Monday.
“They had an event [at the White House] the other day. With tables, they could hold 79 people. Now, if you have President Xi from China, or if you have some big state event, we have no place to have it. You know what they did? …They will put a tent on the lawn. It was a low section because that’s the only section you have… If it rained, you were sitting in six inches of water. It was a disaster.”
TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’
Trump’s remarks came in response to Ingraham’s question about the former first lady’s recent remarks criticizing his East Wing demolition to embark upon the project, which has drawn ire from a swath of Democratic critics, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and others.
Obama alleged the move “denigrate[s]” the East Wing, where the first lady’s office traditionally sat, and where the “heart” of her work took place.
“When we talk about the East Wing, it is the heart of the work [of a first lady],” she said, according to Vanity Fair.
“And to denigrate it, to tear it down, to pretend like it doesn’t matter, it’s a reflection of how you think of that role.”
PHOTOS: THE MAKING OF TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, A LOOK AT THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
She also took a swipe at Trump for demolishing the East Wing during an NBC appearance.
“There’s no guidebook,” Obama said of the challenges of being first lady.
“There’s barely a staff. Now we don’t have a building,” she added.
Acknowledging broader criticism from those who insist on the building’s historical value, Trump pointed to prior renovations made to the East Wing.
“That building was renovated 20 times, including adding a floor to the top, which was terrible,” he said.
“It looked like hell. It had nothing to do with the original building, and I didn’t want to sacrifice a great ballroom for an okay ballroom by leaving it right smack in the middle.”
The sprawling 90,000-square-foot development, which would give the White House a formal ballroom for the first time in history, is slated to adhere to the classical design of the White House.
Fox News’ Madison Colombo and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
