Biden Trashes Trump Over ‘Disturbing’ Changes to the White House
The former president delivered a blunt verdict on Donald Trump’s White House makeover.

Elizabeth Frantz/Barry Williams/REUTERS
Joe Biden has ripped into Donald Trump’s vanity projects as “beneath the country,” offering his take on the current president’s obsession with building.
Biden, 83, was asked what he made of Trump’s $600 million White House ballroom and the demolition of the White House East Wing during an interview with People.
“Almost as disturbing as the gold bars on the walls of the White House and the Oval Office,” the 46th president said, in a swipe at Trump’s transformation of the People’s House with gaudy gold trim, trinkets, and decor.
Some of Trump’s biggest priorities in his second term have been his vanity projects.
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
“I mean, what the hell are we talking about? I find it disturbing,” Biden continued, before offering his take on what’s behind Trump’s fixation on his vanity projects, which include his $100 million triumphal arch, his effort to revamp and rename the Kennedy Center after himself, his paving over of the White House Rose Garden, and his botched attempt to renovate the Reflecting Pool.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’ve viewed the president’s judgment in tearing down the East Wing and a number of other things as nothing more than to try to create monuments to himself: ‘I built that,” Biden surmised.
Sign Up for The Swamp Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“I find it beneath the country,” the former president added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has spent or plans to spend at least $1.6 billion in taxpayer dollars on his various vanity projects, according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress.
Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee put the price tag closer to $1.8 billion—enough, they say, to cover 1.7 months of child care, pay the medical bills of 88,000 veterans for an entire year, or patch 17.7 million potholes.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans feel “dissatisfied” or “upset” with Trump’s building projects in Washington, D.C., according to a Washington Post poll released in July.
Biden is promoting his forthcoming book, Promise Me, America, in which he revealed an astonishingly warm letter Trump left him in the Oval Office in 2021, just before leaving the White House after losing the 2020 election.
“You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history, and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people,” Trump wrote, according to an excerpt obtained by The New York Times.
Biden, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that spread to his bones after leaving office, told People that his current health outlook “looks very positive.”
“There’s a lot of people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer, particularly the kind of cancer I have, who live long lives, who live for another 10, 20 years,” he said. “And so far, the two tests that have been done show that the cancer is not metastasized beyond what it already was.”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation

ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT