When U.S. President Donald Trump met with donors for his new ballroom at the White House earlier this month, he relayed a story that thrilled his real estate mogul heart.

¡°I said, ¡¯How long will it take me?¡¯ ¡¯Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals,¡¯¡± Trump said on October 15, describing a conversation he¡¯d had about the project. ¡°I said, ¡¯You gotta be kidding.¡¯ They said, ¡¯Sir, this is the White House, you¡¯re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.¡¯¡±

Days later, demolition crews bulldozed the East Wing of the White House, reducing decades of history at one of the country¡¯s most famous landmarks to a pile of rubble and drawing outrage from historians, preservationists, Democrats and the public.