Chelsea Clinton blasted President Donald Trump in a new op-ed for USA Today, accusing him of showing a “disregard for history” and taking a “wrecking ball to our heritage” with major White House renovations — including demolition of part of the East Wing to build a new ballroom.
“A disregard for history is a defining trait of President Trump’s second administration,” Clinton wrote Thursday, criticizing the East Wing demolition, changes at the Smithsonian, and the administration’s push to remove diversity and inclusion programs across federal agencies, Fox News reported.
The former first daughter, who moved into the White House at age 12 when her father, Bill Clinton, became president in 1993, said she always understood the mansion didn’t belong to her family.
“Renovations aren’t inherently objectionable because of who orders them or who pays for them,” Clinton wrote. “But authority is not the same as stewardship. Stewardship requires transparency, consultation and an accounting for history.”
Clinton’s op-ed zeroed in on the $250 million project to replace part of the East Wing with a privately funded ballroom — a move she said symbolizes “what happens when we take a wrecking ball to our heritage.”
The backlash online quickly turned political. Conservative commentators mocked Clinton’s remarks, reminding her of scandals surrounding her father’s presidency.
