The Trump administration has stirred controversy by redirecting public attention towards past White House events involving Democrats, amidst backlash over the destruction of the East Wing. A dedicated page on WhiteHouse.gov, titled ‘East Wing Expansion Stages,’ was launched by President Donald Trump’s team, highlighting several contentious moments. These include President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, a 2012 meeting between President Barack Obama and the Muslim Brotherhood, and an incorrect claim linking Hunter Biden to a 2023 cocaine discovery in the West Wing.

Additionally, the timeline criticized President Joe Biden for his 2023 celebration of ‘Trans Day of Visibility.’ These posts, nestled within a broader narrative of White House developments such as the creation of the press briefing room in 1970 and First Lady Melania Trump’s tennis pavilion in 2020, were called out by White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr. In a social media update, Dorr described the page as having ‘some easter eggs for wannabe historians,’ inviting the public to take a closer look.

The recent updates to the WhiteHouse.gov site exemplify the administration’s unconventional approach to handling controversies. In a notable incident, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt humorously deflected a question from a reporter by responding with a ‘your mom’ joke when queried about the location for Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Additionally, Communications Director Steven Cheung accused a prominent Trump critic of secretly using the gay dating app Grindr.

The trolling comes as veterans of both Democratic and Republican administrations have expressed outrage that the East Wing was torn down in four days with zero oversight to make way for Trump’s $300 million ballroom project. Trump was able to bypass a historic preservation review by appointing an ally, Staff Secretary Will Scharf, to chair the National Capital Planning Commission, which generally reviews these types of projects. Scharf argued that the NCPC doesn’t oversee demolitions, just construction, and so tearing down the entirety of the East Wing was legally permissible.

During Thursday’s briefing, Leavitt was asked if that meant the president could tear down anything he wanted, with a reporter using the White House’s West Wing and the Jefferson Memorial as examples. ‘So it’s not the president who came up with that legal opinion himself. That’s the legal opinion that’s been held by the NCPC for many years,’ Leavitt answered. ‘They have ruled consistently, their general counsel has said, when it comes to phase one of this project, the tearing down of the current East Wing structure, a submission is not required legally for that,’ she continued.

‘Only for vertical construction will a submission be required,’ Leavitt added. The reporter interjected: ‘So it sounds like the answer is yes, he can tear down whatever he wants.’ ‘That’s not what we’re saying,’ Leavitt pushed back. ‘That’s a legal opinion that’s been held for many years.’ Former NCPC board members told ABC News Thursday that approval should have been sought before demolition started.

Photos from Thursday showed that not only was the East Wing reduced to a pile of rubble, but construction equipment knocked out the East Colonnade as well, which housed the White House’s movie theater. The East Colonnade was famously decorated by First Lady Melania Trump in blood-red Christmas trees in 2018, creating a viral moment. Booksellers’ hall, traditionally a gift shop during tours and where guests arrive for state dinners, looked to be the last room standing apart from the main house.

When the president originally announced the ballroom project in July, he made it sound like the East Wing wouldn’t be disturbed, with Leavitt saying it would be ‘modernized.’ She was asked about that choice of wording at Thursday’s briefing, as the White House has taken heat for not being more transparent about the demolition. ‘Look, again, with any construction project, changes come and we have informed all of you. We have been keeping you apprised of this project. We’ve shown you renderings. And if you look at the renderings, it’s very clear that the East Wing was going to be modernized,’ Leavitt said.

The reporter noted that ‘modernizing and tearing down are two different things.’ ‘Well, again, … the plans changed when the president heard counsel from the architects and the construction companies who said that in order for this East Wing to be modern and beautiful for many, many years to come, for it to be a truly strong and stable structure, this phase one that we’re now in was necessary,’ Leavitt answered. ‘And the president wants to do right by the people’s house,’ she insisted. ‘And so that’s exactly what he’s doing.’