Americans oppose White House East Wing demolition for ballroom, poll finds

Most Americans rejected tearing down the White House East Wing to make room for Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, a sign that the fight has become less about construction and more about how far a president can go in remaking public symbols as personal legacy.

In the new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 56% opposed demolishing the East Wing for the ballroom, while 28% supported it and 15% were unsure. Strong opposition, at 47%, was nearly three times strong support, at 16%, underscoring how sharply the project cuts against public tolerance for presidential self-branding.

The poll found no significant overall shift before and after the attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night. Republican support did move higher, from 62% before the dinner to 72% afterward, but the broader picture remained one of resistance to the project.

The ballroom itself has become a symbol of how Trump is trying to reshape the White House complex. The administration announced the 90,000-square-foot ballroom in July 2025, and demolition had begun by October 2025 on the East Wing, which was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942. The planned ballroom would seat about 1,000 guests, according to a National Capital Planning Commission staff report.

The same poll also found Americans opposed adding Trump’s signature to paper currency by more than 5-to-1, extending the backlash beyond architecture to the broader question of personal imprint on federal institutions. Together, the two results suggest limits on public acceptance of symbolic expansion, even among voters who may back Trump on other issues.

The project is now tied up in legal and oversight disputes as well. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed suit in December 2025 to stop construction until federal review requirements were completed, and an appeals court panel later allowed work to continue after an earlier injunction was stayed. Newly released documents reported by Reuters showed the administration created a legal framework in October that allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in anonymous private donations for the roughly $400 million project while limiting federal conflict-of-interest review. Public Citizen, which obtained the contract through a records lawsuit, said the administration’s failure to disclose it was unlawful.

Congress has been split over who should pay. Senators Lindsey Graham, Katie Britt and Eric Schmitt introduced legislation to provide $400 million for the ballroom, while other Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott, argued taxpayers should not foot the bill. The poll suggests the public is even less willing to subsidize a presidential monument to self.