Overview
- On NBC’s Today, Michelle Obama joked, “Now we don’t have a building,” after discussing the first lady role with Jenna Bush Hager.
- On The Late Show, she said she feels “lost” about current norms, calling the East Wing “where life happened” and reaffirming the White House as the people’s house.
- Crews demolished the East Wing last month to clear space for a roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom, with cost estimates reported between $200 million and $300 million.
- The White House says the project is privately financed and released a partial donor list that includes Microsoft, Meta, HP, Google, Comcast, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; Public Citizen noted many supporters have significant federal interests.
- The administration defended the construction as a “bold, necessary addition,” as other former first-family figures, including Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, publicly criticized the razing.