The White House Continues Its Parade of Unfunny Trolling With an Update to Its Website

The first president to take up residence in the White House was John Adams, who succeeded George Washington. The second President of the United States and his wife, Abigail Adams, moved in on Nov. 1, 1800. Although the Adams family only spent the final year of the president's single term there, Abigail had a lot of thoughts about the People's House. Her biggest complaint was about how cold and damp it was during the winter. When the time came to leave, she was happy to go.

In the 225 years since the White House was first occupied, it has gone through many changes. During the War of 1812, British troops set fire to the White House. Only its interior remained. Some of the modifications were major, while others were structural, like adding indoor plumbing or lighting. Most administrations do some redecorating. Some of these changes are documented on the White House Major Events Timeline, which was updated in Trump's second term with a few confusing, nonsensical jokes.

While President Trump is in the midst of overseeing a ballroom addition to the White House grounds, which required demolishing the entire East Wing, someone on his staff is trying to be funny. The White House Major Events Timeline section of the White House's website is meant to highlight the history of the building itself.

It begins with the design plans in 1791 through its completion in 1800, then jumps to the White House being rebuilt following the fire that destroyed it in 1814. As you keep scrolling, you learn about the many times the building has been changed. For example, the South and North Porticos were added by Presidents James Monroe and Andrew Jackson, respectively. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt added the famous West Wing.

The now-defunct East Wing was built by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942. You get the gist of the purpose of this section of the White House website. That's why the attempts at comedy have failed miserably. Someone included the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal from 1998, President Barack Obama welcoming the Muslim Brotherhood in 2012, cocaine being found in the White House in 2023, and transgender advocates visiting the White House in 2023 and 2024.

The reason the White House Major Events Timeline got a bad remodel of its own is that the new ballroom has been met with a fair amount of backlash. It's being paid for by private donors, which could be viewed as a form of palm greasing. The $300 million structure is allegedly funded by donations from Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, along with Coinbase, Ripple, and Tether, per ABC News. Don't forget Palantir and Lockheed Martin, who have billions in defense contracts.

A letter penned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation expressed concern about the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which will "overwhelm the White House itself." They pointed to the historical significance of the building and respectfully asked construction to stop. As of this writing, construction continues.