White House tours are back just in time for the holidays : NPR

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 due to President Trump’s decision to build an estimated $300 million ballroom, resulting in the removal of the East Wing.

Images of the demolition sparked controversy and outrage, with some suggesting that the diggers vandalizing the East Wing was a metaphor for Trump’s approach to government since returning to office. Polling indicates that a majority of Americans oppose the project.

In past years, White House tours began in the East Wing, which was lit with decorations during the holidays, and took visitors to a winter wonderland.

On Monday morning, reporters got the first look at the new, abbreviated tour and a preview of decorations the White House said were “personally chosen by Mrs. Trump to honor the heart of America.”

According to the White House, there are 75 wreaths with red bows, 51 Christmas trees, more than 700 feet of garland, more than 2,000 strings of lights, more than 25,000 feet of ribbon and 2,800 gold stars.

First Lady Melania Trump and her team had very little real estate to work with as they planned “Home Is Where the Heart Is” themed decorations. Tours now begin and end at the North Portico of the White House and include stops in the East Room, Blue Room, Green Room, Red Room, and State Dining Room. Basement rooms such as the East Wing and the Map Room that were previously decorated are no longer part of the public walkway. 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. Standing 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 the help of AI to aid in the design, each of which included the state bird and state flower. The tree was decorated by Gold Star families who lost a loved one as a result of active-duty military service.

“The home is made safe because of the Gold Star families who sacrificed for our country, no matter where around the world they call home,” said Nicholas Clemens, the first lady’s communications director and an unofficial tour guide for the media preview.

The Green Room “celebrates family fun,” according to the White House description of the decor, and features large Lego figures of Presidents George Washington and Trump. Each picture contains 6,000 Lego bricks.

“They were put together by volunteers,” Clemens said. He described a scene straight out of the movies, as dozens of volunteer decorators from across the country climbed the stairs, carrying boxes of garland and tying numerous bows to decorate the hall and prepare it for the return of public tourism.

The Red Room features more than 10,000 blue butterflies created to celebrate young people, “including youth who have experienced foster care, who are still figuring out where home is and what that might mean,” Clemens said. In addition to the butterflies, ornaments on the Christmas tree read “Be the Best” and ribbons threaded through the branches read “Fostering the Future”, two initiatives of the first lady.

The East Room is decorated to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, which will fall next year, and according to the White House, “reflects 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,” which will lead to the vast ballroom he plans to build where the East Wing once stood. “It looks great right now, but it’s going to look even better in a little while,” Trump said last month.

As always, the highlight of the State Dining Room is the gingerbread white house. It shows the White House with a giant American flag made of sugar from the South Lawn, mirroring the new and giant flag poles added by Trump earlier this year. The second floor of the gingerbread south portico is open so visitors can glimpse the Yellow Oval, a room in the private residence where the first family gathered.

“You will be able to … look and see the current design of the Yellow Oval as it is currently designed for Trump,” Clemens said. “So you’ll get a glimpse of what it looks like in real time.”

A program of the tour presents the dessert’s achievements by numbers. The Gingerbread White House features 120 pounds of gingerbread dough, 100 pounds of pastille dough, 10 pounds of chocolate, and 5 pounds of royal icing. “Except for a few little lights, everything else is made of things you can eat,” Clemens said.

Asked about the tour’s smaller footprint this year and Trump’s renewal, Clemens declined to comment.

While the East Room demolition is the most high-profile project since Trump returned to office, the president has been on a remodeling spree, making rapid changes to the White House. The Rose Garden has been transformed into a courtyard surrounded by flowers, modeled after the outdoor space at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The Oval Office is now decorated from floor to ceiling in gold. And the Lincoln bathroom in the residence also got a major makeover featuring lots of marble.

Tickets for the tour can be requested through members of Congress, who receive allocations for their constituents.