The East Wing of the White House was demolished in late October 2025 as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to build a new ballroom in its place.
In the wake of the demolition, a rumor circulated online that the National Park Service said historic preservation laws would force Trump to reconstruct the East Wing “exactly the way it was” at his own expense. Users shared the claim across Facebook, Threads and X.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence that national historic preservation laws would force Trump to rebuild the demolished East Wing at his own expense.
Rather, the rumor about the White House originated with The Halfway Post — a social media page that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. The Halfway Post’s X bio reads:
Dadaist graffiti news. Halfway true comedy and satire by @DashMacIntyre. I don’t report the facts, I improve them. Comedy is cathartic in fascist eras like ours
In spite of the news being satire, the reality of historic preservation laws around the White House is complex, according to the BBC.
Construction on historic buildings in the U.S. is normally subject to a review by federal agencies, which includes an opportunity for public input. However, Section 107 of the National Historic Preservation Act exempts the White House, the Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court building from such reviews.
Additionally, the construction is being privately funded, according to CNN. Alongside money from Trump, donations for the project came from tech companies Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft; defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Palantir; and Trump allies like Kelly Loeffler, the Lutnick Family and the Adelson Family Foundation.
The Halfway Post has a history of making up satirical stories for shares and comments, some of which Snopes has checked in the past. Those include the assertion that gay dating apps were threatening to reveal Republican politicians’ alleged accounts.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
