Trump administration asked staffers' children to create a 'Build The Wall' mural at White House Halloween party
During the Halloween party at the White House this year, children of staffers were encouraged to create a "Build the Wall" mural and write their names on it.
The Halloween party was held for the executive branch staff and their families on October 25 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to Yahoo News. The outlet got access to photos of the paper wall with the names of the children alongside large black letters that read "Build the Wall". Another sign on the wall read "America First", a phrase often used by President Trump and notorious for having been used by Ku Klux Klan.
Although the majority of the attendees were members of Trump administration, a few people were horrified at the idea. One of the attendees, who requested to stay anonymous to avoid professional retaliation, said, "We were horrified".
The Eisenhower Executive Office Building stands across from the White House and is used as an office by a big portion of the West Wing support staff. The building also houses Vice-President Mike Pence's ceremonial office.
The controversial mural was placed on the first floor, outside the speechwriter's office and next to the office of digital strategy.
The employees at the building were instructed to put together kid-friendly displays for the children who would be trick-or-treating. The displays had to be "interactive" and "inspiring" and in line with the party theme which was, "When I grow up, I want to be..."
Though photos posted on social media show that VP Mike Pence was in attendance for the Halloween Party at the building, his spokesperson said that the vice president did not go beyond his office, which is on the second floor. When the vice president was asked if the "Build the Wall" display was appropriate for a children's event, the spokesperson said, "I have no idea, I'm not aware of it."
The spokesperson also said that each office in the building put up decorations. "Our ceremonial office had a plane display, we had kids build their own paper airplanes and fly them. That's what the VP came to do, he came to our ceremonial office," the spokesperson said.
Ben Rohrbaugh, who worked on National Security Council on border security in the Obama administration, spoke to Yahoo News about the event, saying, "To the extent the wall is just a xenophobic symbol, this is obviously a gross thing to have children do. To the extent it’s a representation of an actual wall on the southwest border, the kids have made nearly as much progress as the president has since 2017."