The East Wing Demolition and the Manipulation of History

The White House announces changes to the "About" page with a distorted reading of history and the 💅 emoji

This past week, the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Trump’s ballroom sparked outrage. The sudden leveling has dominated multiple news cycles; it has become a powerful visual symbolizing the Trump Administration’s destruction of democratic institutions. Yet, the justification for this move has garnered comparatively less attention.

On October 23, the Trump Administration made edits to the “About” page for the White House, announcing them on X with the nail-polish emoji, typically used to express sass. Alongside standard historical events like the burning of the White House in 1812 were former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky, along with a 2012 meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood under President Barack Obama, cocaine being discovered at the White House in 2023 under President Joe Biden, and Biden hosting a “day of visibility” for transgender individuals.

Official White House website

Except for Clinton’s improprieties, the White House distorted what had happened. On the “About” page, Obama was pictured in local garb from a 2006 visit to Kenya which fueled conspiracy theories that he was a secret Muslim; the 2012 Muslim Brotherhood meeting was routine diplomatic outreach following Egypt’s revolution. President Biden’s son, Hunter was pictured in an infamous photo of him smoking crack when he was in active addiction; when the cocaine was found at the White House in 2023, he was sober and living in Los Angeles. The trans activist who took her top off at the White House was later banned.

These additions to a standard historical timeline appear to be a rejoinder to Trump’s critics who have decried his $250 million ballroom -- paid for by big corporations and donors -- as gaudy and corrupt. In “I’m rubber, you’re glue” logic, if Trump’s critics defiled the White House, and so can he. (White House press officials recently responded to a query from a HuffPost reporter with “your mom.”) But the edits also signal a willingness to instrumentalize history in ways that authoritarian leaders use to justify their rule.

In Russia, Vladimir Putin has followed Soviet leaders in manipulating history to justify actions, substantiate legitimacy, and define enemies. Putin has frequently invoked World War II to justify his aggressive invasion of Ukraine, referring to Ukraine’s democratically-elected leadership as Nazis and Neo-Nazis.