Can o Donald Trump may have set out to “renovate” the White House to his own taste by demolishing the East Wing to create a lavish ballroom, yet the Melania Trump she doesn’t seem to share his excitement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US First Lady Melania Trump has expressed her concern and displeasure with her husband Trump’s ambitious plans in a close circle. In fact, as the publication mentions, Melania is said to have told her colleagues that “it was not her idea” to build the ballroom.
“President Trump is a maker at heart. Have no doubt: the renovated East Wing and brand new ballroom will make the People’s House more useful and beautiful for generations of presidents and Americans to come,” a White House spokesman commented.
Indicative of the distance Melania wants to take is the silence she has kept about her demolition of the east wing by her husband Trump which has served as a base for the wives of presidents since the Jimmy Carter administration, although the work has meant disturbing the space that houses her own team.
As the New York Times notes, this silence is not so unexpected as Melania Trump has spent only 14 of her husband’s first 100 days in Washington, preferring to be in New York or Palm Beach.
Also in her second term in the White House, Melania Trump has reduced her staff to just five full-time employees as of July.
Trump decided to change the Oval Office too, which he filled with paintings of American presidents.
As he said in his post: “Look how beautiful the Oval Office is now. Many of these great paintings of past presidents have been in the vaults for over 100 years. Now they are for all to enjoy!”