Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley launched a sharp critique of Democrats on Monday, accusing them of abandoning respect for American institutions and history in favor of political power, particularly in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to demolish part of the historic White House East Wing to make way for a new ballroom.
Appearing on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Hawley addressed the controversy surrounding the demolition, which began on Monday. He suggested that liberal outrage over the project and their purported support for American institutions was disingenuous.
“Let’s remember, these people burned whole cities to the ground, Laura, when they had a political disagreement with somebody else,” Hawley told host Laura Ingraham. “These people don’t believe in institutions. They don’t believe in history. All they believe in is power.”
Hawley argued that the outcry was simply a political “fit” because Democrats “can’t stand that the people put Donald Trump in power,” comparing their reaction to the current government shutdown debates.
“It’s ridiculous, and Trump is doing the right thing,” he emphasized. “I can’t wait to see the ballroom finished.”
Ingraham then brought up past controversies involving former President Bill Clinton’s use of the White House, asking if Democrats truly respected the institutions they now claim to defend.
“Didn’t Clinton sell out the Lincoln bedroom, and I remember all those stories about what they did when they were there. I mean, Bill Clinton treated it like … it was his bedroom, right?” Ingraham asked.
Hawley wholeheartedly agreed, using the Clintons’ conduct as an example of liberal hypocrisy.
“Yeah, Bill Clinton did a lot of things in the White House,” he responded. “I tell you, among other things that they did, though, is they absolutely raised campaign money on it. They sold out the Lincoln Bedroom — pimped it out, you might say — to their donors and other people.”
“Nothing that the Clintons say is credible, and nothing that the Libs say is credible,” Hawley concluded, dismissing their criticism that the historic institution should be preserved.
The demolition crews began tearing down a section of the East Wing on Monday to accommodate the new presidential ballroom. No new wing has been added to the White House since the East Wing’s original construction in 1942, though the mansion underwent a full restoration under President Harry S. Truman between 1948 and 1952.
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