Stephen Colbert is not letting President Trump tear down the East Wing of the White House without a fuss.
In his monologue Thursday, Colbert revealed the latest developments of Trump’s ballroom construction project. Although Trump promised in July that he wouldn’t touch the East Wing, as of this week he’s razed down the section almost entirely.
“As of this morning, the East Wing looked like a rotisserie chicken your dog got into,” Colbert said, showing viewers an image of the destruction.
“That is very upsetting to look at, I realize that,” Colbert said. “And you know the administration knows that, because today the Secret Service closed access to the Ellipse Park, which is a public park, from which journalists had been capturing live images.”
“That makes sense,” Colbert joked. “If none of it’s on camera, they can just claim the East Wing hanged itself in prison.”
“A lot of history being smashed to rubble there,” Colbert said. Quoting from a recent CNN article, he noted, “First built in 1902, the East Wing has been the headquarters for presidential spouses since the Carter administration.”
“In fact, Melania was in the East Wing, and I certainly hope they got her out of there,” Colbert said.
First Lady Melania Trump’s office was indeed located in the East Wing, along with much of her staff. This was the part of the White House where she installed her infamous 2018 Christmas decorations.
Colbert noted that the demolition of the East Wing has continued despite vehement protests from preservationist groups.
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation requested a pause in the demolition,” Colbert explained, “Urging the White House to ‘go through the legally required public review process and to invite comment from the public.’”
The plea has largely been ignored by the Trump administration, which has continued the demolition at full speed.
“It’ll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world. It’s about $300 million,” Trump happily told reporters Wednesday. “I think there’ll be nothing like it.”
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