A real-life Indian Jones has branded Donald Trump’s “authoritarian” White House destruction as the cultural vandalism once committed by ISIS. The POTUS changed a lot inside the White Housed East Wing to make space for his 90,000 square-foot ballroom and $300 million. He previously promised that he would leave the historic structure untouched, but he is not following up on his promise.
Previously, while talking about the renovation, he said, “You can start tonight, you have no approvals.” He has ordered a large destruction of the Roosevelt-era building, even describing the sound of wrecking as “music to my ears.”
THE “NAPOLEON COMPLEX” BALLROOM WILL BE THREE TIMES THE SIZE OF THE WHITE HOUSE. AN UGLY MONUMENT TO DONNY’S SHORTCOMINGS. (SOME SAY TINY) I, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, WILL SIGN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CHANGE THE NAME FROM “THE DONALD TRUMP BALLROOM” TO “THE EPSTEIN FILES STORAGE FACILITY.” pic.twitter.com/QMLzxJXzB6
— Governor Newsom Press Office (parody) (@AwesomeNewsom) September 25, 2025
The part of the building holds a lot of historic moments, so the destruction is being criticized by many. Matthew Vincent, who is a popular archeologist, said that Trump was showing a “horrific” disregard for the heritage of the country. Vincent, who is originally from Seattle, Washington, is a program director at the American Center of Research (ACOR) in Jordan.
He is described as the real-life Indiana Jones because he has spent 20 years documenting the recovery of vintage artifacts, some of which were stolen by ISIS, Syria, and Iraq. The way he is tracking down lost antiquities is inspiring for many out there. That’s why, Vincent has likened Trump tearing down the historic building to tyrannical destruction. “The first reaction I had was, what the f—? It’s not OK. The White House doesn’t belong to Donald Trump—it’s a federal building, a taxpayer building, belonging to the American people,” the archeologist said.
“…to make room for his stupid giant ballroom, Donald Trump has approved the demolition of the entire East Wing of the White House…this is not the first wing he’s destroyed…this one is truly heartbreaking…He is literally erasing U.S. history…”
—@StephenAtHome 10/22/25 pic.twitter.com/G8eOVFLOjJ— Larry Elder (@larryelder) October 23, 2025
“What he’s doing is horrific and done without any oversight or acknowledgment from the bodies that should oversee this—and certainly not with the American people.” Vincent continued, “Behind this is an ideology—to disregard the past and those who came before it: ‘If we don’t like something, we erase it. Party lines matter more than history. We’ll erase the past to paint one side of a story’—and that’s just what ISIS did.”
“It’s two sides of the same coin. Ideologically driven people are burning down the past to present one side of the picture and remove the story of the other side,” he continued.
