A Bigger, More Beautiful White House?

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Noted White House historians and French postcard collectors Adam and Jeff offer their thoughts on the recent demolition by the Trump Administration of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a grand ballroom. Jeff points out that renovations are nothing new to the White House as it was first completely gutted when the British burned it down in 1814. Other improvements followed such as the construction of the East Wing during Franklin Roosevelt's administration where First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt could be housed in an office as far away as possible from the Oval Office on the other side of the building. Harry Truman presided over the most massive reconstruction of the White House in the late 1940s when its interior was largely rebuilt--leaving little more than the exterior walls intact. Although Truman's renovations were criticized for being out of character with the existing architecture, no body could answer how any such character could be preserved if the White House collapsed. Donald Trump's desire to build a 25,000 square foot ballroom to house up to 1,000 guests is the latest attempt to make the "people's house" a more pleasing experience for visiting dignitaries who might otherwise have to go fetch their plates at a tent on the front lawn or relieve themselves in one of the many convenient exterior portable toilets. In keeping with this patriotic duty to make a bigger, more beautiful East Wing in which the offices of the First Lady and the White House Calligrapher will be relocated, Adam and Jeff have called on the Omaha Bugle to contribute funds to participate in this magnificent building project.