Biden, in People Interview, Says Trump's East Wing Demolition for a Ballroom Is 'Beneath the Country'
Washington — Former President Joe Biden criticized President Trump's White House renovations in an interview published by People magazine on Nov. 13, saying that tearing down the East Wing to build a large ballroom amounts to erecting a monument to himself. Biden, 83, speaking at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, said the gold décor added to the White House and the Oval Office was also disturbing — "almost as disturbing as the gold bars" on the walls — and questioned Trump's judgment, saying the demolition and alterations serve the president's wish to leave a personal legacy: "I find it beneath the country."
Trump's plans also include replacing the Rose Garden's traditional lawn with paving stones, building a helipad on the South Lawn, and constructing a ballroom expected to be larger than the existing White House building. Biden also discussed Trump's planned triumphal arch in Washington near Arlington National Cemetery: nine members of the Kennedy family filed a motion on Nov. 10 seeking to join a lawsuit challenging the project, arguing the structure could block views of the Kennedy gravesites and the Eternal Flame. Biden said what he misses most is the White House staff, calling the White House "the people's house." He said he was pleased with Democrats' performance in the midterm elections; his memoir, Promise Me, America, is due out on November 17.
Source: People Magazine
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：白宫草坪资料图。维基共享资源 CC BY-SA 3.0。 / Photo: The White House lawn (file photo). Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
