As the backlash about President Trump’s $200 million ballroom continues, the co-hosts of The View weigh in on the controversial addition to the White House.
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After news broke about demolition crews beginning construction by tearing down the White House’s East Wing, Whoopi Goldberg and the rest of the View co-hosts didn’t hold back from criticizing Trump and his ballroom.
“That is not your building. You don’t own that building,” Goldberg declared while discussing the situation on Tuesday. “That would be like me going over to Trump Tower and saying, ‘I’m gonna build a disco! They wanted me to just own Trump Tower for hundreds of years!’ I mean, come on, you don’t own that building. That is the people’s building. You don’t own it!”
Joy Behar referred to President Trump as a “one man wrecking ball” during the discussion. She then criticized the decision to proceed with the construction amid the country’s economic woes and the government shutdown.
“At the same time, people are losing their government jobs,” Behar pointed out. “It’s a very bad look right now to be building and demolishing and all this gold, tacky crap that he loves.”
Meanwhile, Sara Haines said she believes the ballroom is a symbol of excess and opulence. “We’re living in a time where those optics just are flying in the face of the reality of the majority of this country,” she said.
“He won on making cost of living better, but inflation’s up three percent,” Haines continued. “74 percent of Americans say they’ve seen household prices increase by at least $100. The unemployment rate is at a four-year high right now. People are struggling to eat, and this is a wealthy ballroom paid for by wealthy people for wealthy people to come and dance.”
The View Co-Hosts Also Criticized President Trump’s Proposed Ballroom Design
Along with calling out the bad timing of the ballroom’s construction, The View co-hosts also slammed the proposed design of the White House’s addition.
Trump administration officials previously announced that the 90,000-square-foot space will be able to seat 650 people, which more than triples the 200-person capacity of the now-destroyed East Wing. Much like Trump’s Oval Office, the ballroom will feature gold-colored walls, chairs, and chandeliers.
“People are losing their healthcare and tax breaks to billionaires who are probably some of the private donors of this tacky, gaudy, nasty ballroom,” Sunny Hostin said. “It’s tacky! See! It looks like Mar-a-Lago, which is tacky.”
Alyssa Farrah Griffin pointed out that U.S. presidents “technically have the authority” to make changes to the White House. However, she noted that former world leaders had to get their renovations approved by a presidential planning commission.
“I have fears that this might look more like a Florida country club than the White House as we know it,” she added.