White House tours are set to resume Tuesday, just in time for the holidays - and with a much smaller footprint than before this year's East Wing demolition.
The tours were on a three-month hiatus because of President Trump's decision to build an estimated $300 million ballroom, which resulted in the East Wing's removal.
Images of the demolition sparked controversy and outrage with some suggesting the excavators tearing into the East Wing were a metaphor for Trump's approach to the government since returning to office. Polling indicates a majority of Americans oppose the project.
In past years, White House tours began in the East Wing, which dazzled with decorations during the holidays, transporting visitors to a winter wonderland.
On Monday morning, journalists got a first look at the new, truncated tour and a preview of decorations the White House says were "personally selected by Mrs. Trump to honor the heart of America."
There are 75 wreaths with red bows, 51 Christmas trees, more than 700 feet of garland, more than 2,000 strands of light, more than 25,000 feet of ribbon and 2,800 gold stars, according to the White House.
First lady Melania Trump and her team had far less real estate to work with as they mapped out her "Home Is Where The Heart Is" themed decorations. Tours now start and finish in the North Portico of the White House and include stops in the East Room, Blue Room, Green Room, Red Room and State Dining Room. The East Wing and basement rooms such as the Map Room that had previously been decorated are no longer part of the public tour route. A semi-permanent structure has been erected on the North Lawn for security screening of guests.
The official White House Christmas Tree is the focal point of the Blue Room. Measuring 18-feet tall, it is adorned with gold stars and white globe ornaments featuring all 56 U.S. states and territories. The ornaments were 3D printed with AI assisting in designs that feature the state bird and state flower from each. The tree was decorated by Gold Star families, who lost a loved one as a result of active-duty military service.
"Home is made safe because of the Gold Star families who sacrificed for our country, wherever they might call home across the world," said Nicholas Clemens, the communications director for the first lady and an unofficial tour guide for the media preview.
The Green Room "celebrates family fun" according to a White House description of the decorations, and features large Lego portraits of President George Washington and Trump. Each portrait contains 6,000 Lego bricks.
"They were put together by volunteers," said Clemens. He described a scene straight out of the movies as dozens of volunteer decorators from all over the country climbed ladders, carried boxes of garland and tied many bows to get the halls decked and ready for the return of public tours.
The Red Room features more than 10,000 blue butterflies meant to celebrate young people "including youth who've experienced foster care, who are still figuring out where home is and what that might mean," said Clemens. In addition to the butterflies, ornaments on the Christmas tree say "Be Best" and a ribbon threading through the branches reads "Fostering the Future," two of the first lady's initiatives.
The East Room is decorated to mark America's 250th anniversary, which comes next year and according to the White House, showcases "the patriotic colors of our flag and some of our national symbols."
A large golden curtain covers what Trump has described as a "knock out wall," that will lead to the massive ballroom he plans to build where the East Wing once stood. "It looks pretty nice right now, but it's going to look a lot better in a little while," Trump said last month.
As always, the highlight of the State Dining Room is the gingerbread White House. This one depicts the White House as viewed from the South Lawn with a giant American flag made of sugar, mirroring the new and massive flag poles added by Trump earlier this year. The second floor of the gingerbread South Portico is open so viewers can get a glimpse of the Yellow Oval, a room in the private residence where first families gather.
"You'll be able to peer in and see the current design of the ... Yellow Oval as it currently is designed for the Trumps," said Clemens. "So you'll get a real-time glimpse into what it looks like."
A program for the tour lays out the confectionary feat by the numbers. The gingerbread White House contains 120 pounds of gingerbread dough, 100 pounds of pastillage dough, 10 pounds of chocolate and 5 pounds of royal icing. Other than a few small lights "everything else is made of something that you can eat," said Clemens.
Asked about the smaller footprint of the tour this year and Trump's renovations, Clemens declined to comment.
While the East Room demolition is the highest-profile project since Trump returned to office, the president has been on a remodeling spree, making changes to the White House at a frenetic pace. The Rose Garden has been transformed into a patio surrounded by flowers that is modeled after an outdoor space at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. The Oval Office is now gilded from floor to ceiling. And the Lincoln bathroom in the residence also got a major makeover featuring a whole lot of marble.
Tour tickets can be requested through members of Congress, who get an allotment for their constituents.
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