Mourners are outraged over President Trump’s demolition of the East Wing to make way for his $300 million ballroom. Others say it was time for change.

Trump had said in July that the new ballroom "won’t interfere with the current building." But this week he clarified that "to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure."

Photos of the demolition of the East Wing at the White House have reportedly gone viral on social media. The company involved in the demolition, ACECO, has had to take down its website after

Lorenzo Winslow, the White House architect in the 1930s, designed and oversaw the construction of the East Wing and the bunker, as well as other features of the modern-day White House, including the balcony and major interior reconstruction during Harry Truman’s presidency.

"It sounds like the answer is, 'Yes,'" Weijia Jiang states to the press secretary as Leavitt shows photos of the White House's constructions.

In 1979, Trump received approval from the city to purchase the Bonwit Teller building, an Art Deco mainstay on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which would eventually be demolished for a 68-story, mixed-use property now known as Trump Tower, Forbes reported.