TL;DR
- Donald Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a $300M ballroom.
- The move erases a space central to Eleanor Roosevelt’s activism and queer history.
- Roosevelt, likely queer herself, held her first press conference for women there in 1933.
- The East Wing became the nerve center for first ladies’ public work and women’s empowerment.
- Historians call the demolition an insult to decades of feminist and LGBTQ progress.
Trump’s Gilded Ballroom Erases Queer History
Donald Trump’s latest vanity project — a $300 million ballroom — is coming at the cost of something far greater than brick and plaster. In his mission to reshape the White House to his liking, he’s demolishing the East Wing, a space inseparable from the legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt — America’s most activist first lady and, quite possibly, one of its most famous queer women.
The East Wing wasn’t just an architectural extension of the White House; it was a fortress of progress. It was there, in 1933, that Eleanor Roosevelt broke barriers by hosting the first-ever press conference by a first lady — and she made it for women journalists only. Thirty reporters attended, all female, thanks to Eleanor’s insistence that newspapers hire women if they wanted access. It was a feminist mic drop before the term even existed.
She wasn’t acting alone. Her partner in both intellect and emotion was journalist Lorena Hickok — “Hick” to Eleanor — a woman she wrote hundreds of letters to, many brimming with tenderness. Historians still debate whether their relationship was romantic or platonic, but their love, as biographer Blanche Wiesen Cook once said, “was ardent and real.” Together, they pushed the boundaries of gender, politics, and propriety.
The Heart of the White House, Torn Out
The East Wing wasn’t just where Eleanor worked — it was where generations of first ladies turned influence into action. From Rosalynn Carter’s staff reforms to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, the East Wing was the heart of American womanhood in power. Anita McBride, who served as chief of staff to Laura Bush, once called it “the heart of the nation.”
Now, that heart is being ripped out for a ballroom dripping in gold leaf and ego. Historians have blasted the decision. “This suggests the current White House doesn’t think the first lady does anything of value,” said historian Katherine Sibley. Another, Alexis Coe, called it the end of “serious work” in the space.
If the West Wing was always about policy and politics, the East Wing was about empathy — and that’s what makes its loss sting even more for the LGBTQ community. Roosevelt’s East Wing was a haven for voices society often ignored: women, laborers, marginalized groups, and yes, queer people.
A Queer Legacy Worth Remembering
Roosevelt’s closeness with Lorena Hickok has long fascinated historians and queer readers alike. The letters between them — nearly 300 of which survive — show a connection that transcended friendship. Hickok once wrote, “I ache to hold you close,” while Eleanor responded, “I wish I could lie down beside you tonight.” It’s the kind of intimacy that’s been straight-washed for decades but never fully denied.
Their relationship inspired novels, biographies, and even a Showtime miniseries. But beyond the romance, Hickok helped shape Eleanor’s activism, urging her to write her iconic “My Day” column and to advocate for miners, workers, and the poor. In a time when same-sex love was buried under silence, these two women built something radical — a partnership of intellect and compassion.
Trump’s bulldozers can flatten walls, but they can’t erase that. Eleanor Roosevelt’s East Wing may crumble, but her spirit — defiant, queer, and unapologetically kind — will outlast every ballroom chandelier he installs.
The destruction of the East Wing is more than an architectural loss — it’s symbolic. It’s a rewriting of history that threatens to erase queer contributions from the national story. For LGBTQ Americans, Eleanor Roosevelt’s life was a quiet revolution: a woman who challenged gender norms, loved another woman openly through her words, and turned her privilege into a platform for justice.
In tearing down her space, Trump’s administration isn’t just demolishing a building — it’s desecrating a legacy. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that queer stories, like Eleanor’s, have a way of surviving the wrecking ball.