Workers demolished the East Wing of the White House as part of President Donald Trump's plan to build a ballroom.

By Thursday, the White House’s East Wing was gone. The speed of destruction, and the projection of power, are part of the strongman playbook.

With little fanfare, the Trump administration demolished the East Wing of the White House in order to make space for a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom. President Donald Trump teased the project for months,

Demolition crews appeared to finish taking down the bulk of the White House wing Thursday, while President Donald Trump defended the project.

In July, President Trump said his proposed ballroom wouldn't "interfere with the current building." As the East Wing was being demolished, he clarified, "to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.

The historic East Wing of White House is being razed to make way for new ballroom President Trump is building. Look back at its function and origins.

The East Wing of the White House was completely demolished. The Senate blocked a bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown. Trump said he canceled a “surge” of federal officials in San Francisco.

The East Wing of the White House, and the 123 years of American history it embodied is now reduced to rubble. Anderson has the latest.