Melania Trump spoke glowingly about the beauty of the White House that her husband has controversially altered in a tone-deaf speech on Wednesday.
While the president was in Dallas at the GOP’s midterm convention, the first lady was in the Rose Garden as part of the White House Historical Association’s Presidential Sites Summit.
The three-day event, according to its agenda, is supposed to emphasize “lessons learned, future collaborations, and strategies for sustaining relevance in a dynamic cultural landscape.” The White House is indeed quite as relevant as ever, but not in the best way.
In a speech titled “The White House: America’s Architectural Autobiography,” Trump said the presidential home “stands as an architectural autobiography of America, embodying the enduring values of ambition, democracy, and civic life through its design, craftsmanship, and the objects within.”
“Design is a meticulous process that involves a multitude of choices—each line, texture, and play of natural light contributes to an overarching narrative. No detail is too small; what may seem insignificant today can influence how individuals connect with one another and perceive their place in history,” she went on. “Within the walls of the White House, these experiences become essential to our national identity.”
Trump, 56, did not directly mention the overwhelming changes her husband has made to the White House in his second term, like leveling the East Wing to make room for his ballroom, paving over the lawn of the Rose Garden to make a patio reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago, getting rid of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and making the South Lawn flush with his new helipad—a process that requires tearing up the lawn.
Instead, she talked about uncovering wallpaper that had been concealed in the Presidential Dining Room, and her work on the White House Tennis Pavilion during her first stint in the White House.
The pavilion project, she noted, was done “in collaboration with the Trust for the National Mall, the Executive Residence, and the National Park Service, and approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission in 2018. Every detail was thoughtfully considered to ensure the new structure harmonized with the historic neoclassical character of the White House Grounds.”
By contrast, her husband’s planned ballroom has been controversial and was the subject of a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Supreme Court last month ruled against that organization, but only because it determined that it didn’t have standing to sue.
Polling has also shown Americans generally oppose the ballroom. When the demolition of the East Wing got underway last October, surveys by YouGov and Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos found that 53 percent and 56 percent of respondents disliked it, respectively. Only 24 percent and 28 percent viewed it favorably. Months later, when the National Capital Planning Commission solicited public comments, more than 98 percent of the 32,000 messages were negative, a New York Times review found. One common theme was how Trump hadn’t sought approval from Congress, courts or a planning commission.
On Wednesday, Trump wrapped up her speech by speaking about the necessity of being good “stewards” of the White House.
“As stewards of the places shaped by those before us, we are tasked with making decisions that honor future generations,” she concluded. “It is our duty to ensure that the choices we make today are worthy of the legacy we pass forward.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
