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East Wing demolition is a sign of Trump's quest to remake the presidency in his image

NPR

By Tamara Keith,

Domenico Montanaro, Adrian Florido

Published October 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM EDT

An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on Oct. 23 in Washington, D.C. The demolition is part of President Trump's plan to build a multimillion-dollar ballroom.

President Trump's interest in curating his public image is closely linked to how he wields power as president.

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Tamara Keith

Tamara Keith has been a White House correspondent for NPR since 2014 and co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast, the top political news podcast in America. Keith has chronicled the Trump administration from day one, putting this unorthodox presidency in context for NPR listeners, from early morning tweets to executive orders and investigations. She covered the final two years of the Obama presidency, and during the 2016 presidential campaign she was assigned to cover Hillary Clinton. In 2018, Keith was elected to serve on the board of the White House Correspondents' Association.

See stories by Tamara Keith

Domenico Montanaro

Domenico Montanaro is NPR's senior political editor/correspondent. Based in Washington, D.C., his work appears on air and online delivering analysis of the political climate in Washington and campaigns. He also helps edit political coverage.

See stories by Domenico Montanaro

Adrian Florido

Adrian Florido is a national correspondent for NPR covering race and identity in America.

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