President Donald Trump engaged in a heated confrontation with a White House reporter on Thursday, October 23, 2025, after being questioned about transparency regarding the ongoing demolition of the East Wing of the White House. The exchange occurred during a televised session at the White House and quickly escalated as Trump challenged the reporter’s credibility.
Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason asked the president to respond to critics who suggested he had not been sufficiently transparent about the East Wing demolition plans. Trump reacted sharply, raising his voice as cameras rolled. “I haven’t been transparent? Really?” Trump responded incredulously before launching into a personal attack on the journalist.
Trump told Mason that he had shown the ballroom plans to everyone who would listen, but that third-rate reporters failed to see them because they did not look. He directly called the Reuters correspondent a third-rate reporter who had always been one. As Mason attempted to interject, Trump continued his criticism, insisting the pictures had been published in newspapers and distributed widely.
The president held up mockups of the planned ballroom during the exchange, featuring gold chandeliers and décor reminiscent of his Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump maintained that the project had received great reviews and that his administration had been more transparent than any previous administration.
Following the confrontation, to further the insult, the White House posted a video on social media from 2020 showing Mason wearing a COVID mask during an outdoor news conference.
The controversy stems from Trump’s apparent reversal of earlier promises regarding the East Wing. During a July 31, 2025, press conference announcing the ballroom plans, Trump stated the new structure would not touch the existing building. He promised at that time that the addition would be near the East Wing but not interfere with it, paying total respect to the existing building.
However, demolition crews began tearing into the Roosevelt-era wing on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. By Wednesday, October 22, The New York Times confirmed the demolition with a senior official not authorized to publicly speak about the work. The official indicated the teardown was scheduled for completion by the weekend. Heavy machinery and construction trucks were observed entering and leaving the demolition site as work progressed.
During the October 23 exchange, Trump defended the decision to completely demolish the structure, explaining that after extensive consultation with some of the best architects in the world, really knocking it down was determined to be the best approach. He noted that little remained of the original 1902 structure, which underwent renovation in 1942, and that some recent alterations were not particularly nice.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle stated in response to inquiries that Trump was working around the clock to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House at no taxpayer expense. According to Ingle, “These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the People’s House.”
The demolition has drawn criticism from preservation groups and historic organizations. On October 21, 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sent a letter to the White House urging Trump to pause demolition until plans could be reviewed. The organization expressed concern that the 55,000-square-foot ballroom would overwhelm the White House itself and potentially disrupt the carefully balanced classical design with its two smaller, lower East and West Wings.
The group emphasized the importance of preservation as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, urging Trump to consider the deep reverence Americans hold for the iconic building and to initiate proper review processes.
Trump’s administration has not submitted plans for the ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission, the agency responsible for approving and monitoring construction on federal buildings.
Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary whom Trump appointed as chair of the planning commission in July 2025, claimed last month that the administration did not need approval for demolition, only for construction, which had not yet begun. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the backlash on October 21, 2025, calling it fake outrage and noting that Trump was re-elected in part because he excels at building things.
Trump indicated Wednesday that the cost of the ballroom project would likely reach $300 million, up from previous estimates of $200 million. He maintained that the ballroom was being paid for entirely by himself and friends, with the government contributing nothing. Trump identified major corporations such as Meta, Apple, Google, and Amazon among the contributors to the project.
Fortune reviewed a list released by the White House naming all 37 donors covering the project’s costs, which includes some of the country’s largest tech firms, several with government contracts, as well as figures from within the administration.
The private donations, which are tax-deductible, will be directed to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. The White House did not disclose the amounts contributed by the 37 individuals listed. Trump has previously stated he would fund part of the project, though his name is absent from the donor list.
