Media personalities are protesting vehemently about President Trump’s decision rebuild the White House’s East Wing into a ballroom, but National Review senior writer Michael Brendan Dougherty, on today’s edition of The Editors, said he’s “all for it.”
“I’m not for authoritarianism or the idea that you only add a ballroom to your house when you intend to stay in it forever, or all these weird theories,” he said, “but the East Wing of the White House was not fit for purpose, if you’ve ever been in it.”
Dougherty pointed out that “most of the White House is not fit for purpose, really. It’s cramped. . . . The West Wing itself needs to be completely renovated and expanded.”
The ballroom plan is a result of the White House not having a suitable space to host important events, and currently having to use large tents on the lawn for the purpose. Dougherty agrees “with Trump that we need a more fitting place for these state dinners. The tent is ridiculous. And he picked a great architect in [McCrery Architects]. They’ve done amazing work across the country restoring churches and other civic historic buildings. . . . I completely trust that they’re going to do an elegant job of it.”
“And it’s just time. . . . It’s been 80 years since there’s been major innovation in the East Wing.”
The Editors podcast is recorded on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.