"But it provides a powerful symbol of wanton destruction and, as Trump himself knows full well, images matter greatly in politics. It also curiously combines so many elements of a distinctly Trumpian approach to government: shameless falsehoods about the proposed ballroom (It won't interfere with the current building. It'll be near it but not touching it); complete disregard for legislation (in this case rules about preservation),"
"There is also something very poignant about the destruction of an edifice which had provided an office of one's own for first ladies. For all these peculiarities, Trump's disfiguring the White House fits into a larger global trend: far-right populist leaders in many countries have used spectacular architecture to advance their political agenda and, more particularly, to set their vision of a real people as in real Americans, real Hungarians et cetera in stone."
"Just before Christmas 2020, in the dying days of his first administration, Trump had already taken time off from his busy schedule promoting the big lie about having won the election in order to issue an executive order entitled Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture. The order made classicism the preferred style for new federal buildings, stopping just short of banning modernism entirely."
The East Wing demolition functions as a powerful visual symbol of wanton destruction and political image-making. The project exemplifies shameless falsehoods about its effects, disregard for preservation laws, and blatant cronyism through donor-driven favors. The removal erases a space historically reserved for first ladies, adding a poignant cultural loss. The tactic aligns with a broader pattern of far-right populists using monumental architecture to cement an idealized, exclusive notion of the nation. An executive order promoting classical federal architecture and the 1776 commission aimed to foster a purified, beautified national narrative.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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