Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise (R-La.) gave impassioned defenses of President Trump’s demolition of the White Home’s East Wing as he prepares to assemble a brand new grand ballroom.
“Just because President Trump has an idea, the Democrat Party’s visceral reaction is just to say no,” Scalise mentioned in a press convention Wednesday.
Scalise mentioned the White Home has been “renovated time and again” and “there wouldn’t be an Oval Office if there weren’t renovations by previous presidents.”
Johnson turned to the subject of the renovation after being requested about Trump in search of $230 million from the Division of Justice. Johnson mentioned he didn’t know of the main points of the requested reimbursement however that “we’re for what is just and right.”
“They attack him for everything does. It doesn’t matter what it is,” Johnson mentioned. “This whole dust over the White House — just by way of quick review, because I’m an amateur historian — but the White House has been renovated many times.”
“We’ve had many presidents renovate and add things to the White House. Teddy Roosevelt did the whole West Wing,” Johnson mentioned. “Truman ripped everything up to put a bowling alley, and FDR added the swimming pool. I think Barack Obama added a basketball court.”
“President Trump’s going to have the greatest improvement of the White House in the history of the building,” Johnson mentioned, including it is going to be “glorious” and that critics have “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Their feedback come as photos of development crews demolishing the East Wing, which housed workplace house for the primary woman and different employees, prompted pushback from preservationists and political opponents this week.
Scalise recalled going to state dinners with world leaders.
“You walk outside of the White House in the rain, sometimes to go to a tent, to go to a tent to host a world leader. That’s what we do today. And President Trump said that’s a disgrace, how about we do better?” Scalise mentioned “And not only did he say we were going to build a great ballroom that we can host these events, he funded it privately. He put up some of his own money. And you would think, well, gee whiz, at least they can agree to that.”
“They say no to everything he does because they just are angry about the results of the election from last year,” Scalise mentioned.
